Keen On Retirement

Planning a vacation is often a balancing act between quality and quantity. But retirees who opt for slow travel may not have to make that choice. Rather than rushing from one attraction to the next, slow travel lets you really immerse yourself in your destination and get the most from two valuable retirement resources: your money and your time. Here are three reasons retirees should consider adding some extra days, or even weeks, to your next travel itinerary.

"Sean" is 60, and he wants to retire by the end of this year. His wife, "Mary," is also 60, and she wants to retire in two-to-three years. Maybe. Sean has an IRA worth $1,000,000 and a health savings account with $5,000 in it. Mary has a 401(k) worth $800,000, an IRA worth $700,000, and company stock worth $100,000. They also have cash savings of about $600,000. They want to be able to spend $120,000 per year in retirement.

When you hit your 60s, you're going to pass some milestones on your financial plan that might make you feel a little ... Well ... old. Once you're past age 59 1/2, you can start taking withdrawals from your retirement accounts without a penalty.

As we discuss on today's episode, this year's report, released on June 2nd, is a bit more optimistic. But the ongoing social, political, and economic challenges that will affect your benefits in retirement mean it's critical that folks understand how these funds work, maintain realistic expectations, and work with an advisor to plan ahead.

"Wealthy" is another category that's a lot more relative than people may realize. Sure, we talk about "the 1%" a lot in our society. Others might point to the IRS' tax brackets to gauge wealth. But Charles Schwab's Modern Wealth Survey 2022 shows that people want more from their money than just wealth -- they want to be able to live a life that aligns with what's most important to them.

Many of my new clients want to know if they have enough money to retire. Once I explain that, at Keen Wealth, we don’t believe folks should be focused on hitting some magic number, the follow-up question is almost always, “OK … But how do my assets compare with other people my age?”