Once you reach retirement, for most, there’s no turning back. A plethora of changes awaits you, some good, others not so good. Unless you spend time with yourself, significant others, and seasoned professionals understanding and preparing for them, it could prove to be a very challenging time of your life.

Retirement comes with adjustments. Adjustments to how you spend your time, how you prioritize, and how you view your money. Money in retirement is fixed to the amount you worked your whole life for. But the question of how to manage it? That depends entirely on the lifestyle you desire.

Don’t fall into the trap of choosing age 65 as your retirement age unless this is when you really want to retire. For some that means adequately building wealth early in order to retire early. For others it means adapting your strategies to comfortably reach retirement, which could mean working longer than planned.

While availability of Medicare (available at 65) and Social Security (available between 62-67) are important financial considerations, with proper planning and alternative resources, they don’t need to be, and furthermore shouldn’t be, the driving forces for determining when you will retire.

You’ve looked forward to your retirement for years, but the most important question is,  what lifestyle do you imagine yourself having? Are you going to travel? Spoil the grandkids? Buy your dream car? Spend weekends golfing? It is completely up to you.

You can’t begin to build a financial plan for your retirement until you have decided what your lifestyle will be. When you’ve fully imagined it, and are truly happy with how you want to live your golden years, then you can begin to make the necessary adjustments to your financial plan. Your plan should be the tools to allow your retirement to be as you want without having to worry about outliving your money.

What does your lifestyle require?

Are you enjoying your current lifestyle, and if so, do you want to continue it in retirement? Then you have to consider if you have the assets to maintain how you are living. If you are fortunate enough to have accumulated a portfolio to do this, then it is simply a matter of making sure you have properly allocated your assets to guarantee yourself the necessary income.

If you do not, then you have two options. You may have to consider a lifestyle reduction. Downsize on the house. Reduce spending. Create a more conscious budget. Or if you still want to maintain the lifestyle you have, you will have to entertain the possibility of working a few more years and delaying your retirement until you have the funds to live the lifestyle you want.

Building financial plans really revolves around lifestyle choices. Once you have decided how you want to live your life, then you take an honest look at your assets and assess if you are going to maintain your lifestyle from your working years, reduce it, or continue to work.

Too many make the mistake of building a plan, and then adjusting their lifestyles to the plan. This type of thinking may limit the retirement you want. When considering your finances, they should be allocated in a way to allow you to live your retirement as you dreamed of living it.

You worked your whole life to build the portfolio you have. Don’t let a financial plan dictate your golden years. Instead, decide your lifestyle and build a financial plan to allow you to live it. Because, after all, retirement is meant to be enjoyed.

Retiring on your terms isn’t just about having sufficient financial resources to sustain you and your family throughout retirement. While financial security is critical, the ability to enjoy a fulfilling life is essential to a successful retirement.

At CKS Summit Group, we understand retiring on your terms is a lifelong endeavor, requiring continous work that must adapt in any market.

We believe professionally managed tactical stock market and non-stock market portfolios can provide healthy, long-term upside growth potential. It can also be very effective at preserving principal while allowing for a high degree of downside risk protection.

We believe the right mixture of carefully chosen non-stock market and managed market accounts can create a blended portfolio which is capable of producing increasing income, stable growth, preservation of principal, safety and flexibility all at the same time.

Come experience the new evolution of Retirement Income Planning! Set up your complimentary strategy session here today.