Keen On Retirement

Recently, while answering some listener questions about early retirement, I pointed out that every piece of your financial plan is connected to every other piece. Adjust one lever, and you might trigger some unexpected consequences if you're not working with a professional who can help you anticipate and prepare for further changes.

Making sure that you and your assets are protected at the end of your life is a standard part of our planning process at Keen Wealth. Over the past several years, we’ve welcomed many new clients who have been putting off estate planning decisions for far too long. Living through the pandemic gave these folks the sense of urgency they needed to sit down with my team and start thinking about the legacy they want to leave to their heirs.

The pandemic given us all a new perspective on our lives and our work. I think that’s a big reason why we’ve had a number of our clients at Keen Wealth ask us about early retirement scenarios this year. After a year of locking down, missing friends and family, working from home, and in far too many cases, losing loved ones, folks want more than just financial security. They want to use their assets to live their best lives for as long as they can.

In my nearly thirty years of helping folks manage the retirement transition, I've seen how prudent financial planning and attentive self-care can make your golden years one of the most fulfilling chapters of your life.

As good as it feels to be exiting the pandemic and enjoying a relatively normal summer, the ongoing economic fallout from COVID-19 and the levers our government pulled to accelerate recovery have a lot of folks worried about inflation. Those fears spiked recently after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose by 5% during the month of May, the biggest jump since 2008. Those numbers are ringing alarm bells for some of our older clients who don't like being reminded of 1970s stagflation as they're nearing or beginning retirement.

Working in some capacity is becoming a regular part of retirement for more and more seniors. But when you're no longer relying on a job to pay your bills or support your family, the meaning of work can take on an entirely different dimension. Transitioning to an encore career can let you make your values and your personal goals a cornerstone of your retirement life. And even if you are comfortable with the size of your nest egg, a little extra padding never hurts!