The Planning For Retirement Podcast Kevin Lao

Thanks everyone for tuning in!  As we continue our review season with clients, it’s a friendly reminder of how important a retirement spending budget is!  This is a key input your financial advisor must know to run accurate projections for you.  Remember, the outputs are only as good as the inputs.  



In our last episode, we talked about how important an assumed retirement age is.  This week, we will focus on projecting how much you’ll spend in retirement.    



This is a very personal question that is tough to fit into a “rule of thumb.”  However, I’ll focus on discussing a few rules of thumb and ways you can project an accurate spending number.  From there, we’ll talk a bit about some research in retirement spending phases and how that will impact your projections.  



And finally, I’ll talk about some of my observations on retiree spending patterns based on my years of practice.      

I hope you enjoy today’s episode.  Make sure to give us a follow if you’re interested in how to plan for retirement.    



Connect:


Imagine Financial Security
Imagine Financial Security on Facebook
Kevin Lao on LinkedIn

Articles:

Exploring the Retirement Consumption Puzzle


https://www.financialplanningassociation.org/sites/default/files/2020-09/MAY14%20JFP%20Blanchett_0.pdf



How much does the average 65+-year-old retiree spend?

https://www.gobankingrates.com/retirement/planning/how-much-the-average-65-year-old-retiree-spends-monthly/?utm_term=incontent_link_8&utm_campaign=1264931&utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_content=11&utm_medium=rss



Are you interested in working with us? Fill out our "Retirement Readiness Survey" and we'll follow up with some feedback on how you're tracking for your goals and how we could help.

Retirement Readiness Survey Link

Two of our recent client meetings were with folks who retired much earlier than they had anticipated.



So, I started to go down a rabbit hole of research and thought this would be a great episode to encourage you all to STOP planning for a “normal” retirement age in your assumptions!



Even if you do end up working until 65 or 70, you should not build that into your calculations when planning for retirement.  Instead, whatever you think your expected retirement date is, push it forward 5 years.  So if you want to work until 60, push it to 55.  If you want to work until 70, push it to 65.  

The point is, that you cannot control what you cannot control.  



It then got me thinking about assumptions for retirement planning. And how the inputs/assumptions we, as financial planners, put into the calculations make a huge difference.



So, what I thought I would do for the next several episodes is go through each of those inputs (retirement age, retirement spending, inflation, longevity, investment returns, and taxes) to coach you through some of those important considerations before making certain assumptions.  Also, to point out mistakes that I’ve seen in my career practicing retirement planning.  



I hope you enjoy this episode, the FIRST-ever time we are publishing a video recording! (*Welcome to 2024 😁)

Thanks for tuning in.

-Kevin Lao


Links:

USA Today Article - Most Americans Retire Earlier Than Expected





Connect:


Imagine Financial Security
Imagine Financial Security on Facebook
Kevin Lao on LinkedIn



Are you interested in working with us? Fill out our "Retirement Readiness Survey" and we'll follow up with some feedback on how you're tracking for your goals and how we could help.

Retirement Readiness Survey Link

Here is part 2 of 2 in the "blended wealth" series! I hope you enjoy it!

Episode Overview
In this episode we shed light on the unique financial planning and estate planning considerations for blended families, emphasizing the importance of tailored advice and open family communication to navigate these complexities successfully.
Today’s guests are Tim and Alexis Woodward, co-founders of Blend Wealth, a firm specializing in financial planning for blended families and business owners.
If you haven’t already done so, make sure you listen to episode 41: Blending and Building Wealth in a Blended Family before listening to this episode.
Connect with Tim and Alexis:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblendcouple/
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/theblendcouple
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blendwealth/
Blend Wealth: https://blendwealth.com/
Key Points
3:56 - Retirement Distribution and Wealth Preservation:

Complexities of retirement distribution, wealth preservation, and estate planning for blended families.

Managing different account types for tax diversification and creating a retirement income strategy that supports both parents and children in blended families.


8:14 - Estate Planning and Beneficiary Designations:

The critical role of updating estate plans and beneficiary designations to reflect current family dynamics and intentions.


15:10 - Family Meetings for Estate Planning: 

The value of holding family meetings to discuss and clarify estate plans to prevent misunderstandings and ensure fairness.


21:40 - Long-Term Care Planning:

The necessity of planning for long-term care, particularly in blended families, and the options available, including insurance.


27:48 - Life Insurance as a Tool for Estate Planning:

How life insurance, especially permanent policies, can be strategically used in estate planning for blended families.


31:36 - Investing in Relationships and the Future:

The importance of investing time and resources in family relationships and future generations.


Resources:

Blend Wealth https://blendwealth.com/

Blended Kingdom Families https://blendedkingdomfamilies.com/

Ron Deal's Smart Stepfamily https://smartstepfamilies.com/

FamilyLife Blended https://www.familylife.com/familylifeblended/blended-families/

40% of marriages today create a blended family, which involve children from previous relationships or marriages.

I'm very excited for these next two episodes with Tim and Alexis Woodward from the Blend Wealth team!



Financial issues are a hot topic within families. And when you add additional parties, it can create added complexity.



We are breaking down this topic of blended family financial planning considerations into two parts:


Episode 41: Blending and Building Wealth in a Blended Family


Episode 42: Wealth Protection and Transfer in a Blended Family



Tim and Alexis Woodward are co-founders of Blend Wealth, a firm specializing in financial planning for blended families and business owners. We hope you enjoy this episode! If you do, make sure to share this with a "blended family" you care about!! Thank you!



Connect with Tim and Alexis:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblendcouple/

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/theblendcouple

Blend Wealth: https://blendwealth.com/



Key Points

6:51 - Financial Planning Complexities in Blended Families:


Blended families face unique challenges in both family dynamics and financial planning, often dealing with children from previous marriages.



9:36 - Starting the Financial Planning Journey:


Importance of transparency and communication about finances between partners.


Different approaches to managing finances: joint, separate, or a combination.



14:55 - Prenuptial Agreements:


Discussed as a tool for addressing financial anxieties and ensuring security for both partners.



18:29 - Setting Financial Goals:


Shared goals might include retirement planning, travel, and charitable giving.


Individual goals often relate to obligations towards biological children from previous relationships.



26:33 - Blended Family Dynamics:


Emphasizes the importance of prioritizing the marital relationship and intentional parenting in blended families.



33:46 - Retirement Specifics:


Social security strategies for blended families.


Tax-efficient withdrawal strategies from retirement accounts.



Resources:


Blend Wealth https://blendwealth.com/


XO Marriage https://xomarriage.com/


Blended Kingdom Families https://blendedkingdomfamilies.com/


Ron Deal's Smart Stepfamily https://smartstepfamilies.com/


FamilyLife Blended https://www.familylife.com/familylifeblended/blended-families/




Blended Family Breakthrough Podcast
“Blended Family Breakthrough” Podcast with Mike and Kim Anderson


I hope you enjoyed today's episode! Stay tuned for Part 2!

The financial markets are well known to cause some stress and anxiety, but this escalates even more during a Presidential election. Especially this one which is likely to bring out emotions from both sides. As a result, I felt called to do this episode to provide some facts about how Presidential elections impact the stock market.

I hope you enjoy this episode! Make sure to share it with a friend or family member who might find it helpful! I want to impact as many people as possible with this message!

Thank you!

***Just a footnote here. I mentioned I was recording on video, which I did...However, I do not have time to edit this video in time for the next episode. I am currently working on hiring an editor, and will hopefully be adding video as a feature to tune into the show soon enough!



If you're interested in becoming a client, fill out our Retirement Readiness Survey Here



Links from the show:


https://www.usbank.com/investing/financial-perspectives/market-news/how-presidential-elections-affect-the-stock-market.html



https://www.eatonvance.com/advisory-blog.php?post=election-cycle-is-very-likely-to-impact-stocks-



https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/trading-investing/election-market-impact


https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/capital_markets/Prob_Rec.pdf



https://www.ustreasuryyieldcurve.com/



https://www.blackrock.com/us/financial-professionals/insights/investing-in-election-years

First and foremost, it's been a whirlwind for the Lao family in March. My financial planning firm just went through its first audit, woohoo! In the midst of all of the heavy lifting preparing for said audit, my wife gets the worst food poisoning of her life. Needless to say, Daddy's daycare was in session for the majority of last week. To cap things off, my oldest son got sick, so I took my twin boys to their first hockey game on Sunday just the three of us. While there, my wife called me with the news that one of our dogs, Guinness, was bitten by a venomous snake. We spent the rest of the day in the ER while he received anti venin and pain meds. Thankfully, he survived and was released the following evening. He's doing much better now, but the pain meds are keeping him up all night with "stomach problems." TMI, but I woke up this morning to prep and record this podcast only to find multiple piles of you-know-what scattered throughout my office. When it rains, it pours!!

But thankfully, I was able to do some prep and record later in the afternoon...so you all BETTER enjoy this episode!

...

The issue with getting too conservative too quickly is that you bring inflation, longevity, and interest rate risk into the picture! This is NOT an ideal situation for retirees in 2024!

In this episode, I discuss the three reasons I believe most investors get too conservative too early, my issue with "Risk Tolerance" as the primary driver of asset allocation, and the concept of "Risk Capacity."


Instead of selecting your asset allocation based on how you feel, or overly simplistic rules of thumb, reverse engineer your asset allocation based on your personalized financial goals and "required rates of return!" Meaning, don't invest based on how someone ELSE tells you to invest but invest based on your priorities and values.



A few links I referenced:



Jack Bogle's Asset Allocation Rule of Thumb



The 15/50 Rule of Thumb


Ep. 36 - ⁠Asset Location to Improve Tax Efficiency in Retirement

If you are interested in working with me 1 on 1, please fill out our Retirement Readiness Survey here, and we will provide personalized feedback on how and what we would address your financial situation.



Feel free to send me an email with your support, feedback, or questions for me! kevin@imaginefinancialsecurity.com



Thank you!



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