Congratulations. If you’re reading this it’s likely that you’ve done the right things to put yourself in a good place to retire. You may not feel that way now. That’s normal. Many of our clients don’t feel that way either at first. But after working with us to envision and create a well-planned retirement, they feel confident and excited about their futures. (Well-planned does not mean this is going to be hard. I don’t think it will be.)
An unforeseen opportunity has changed my financial picture. How do I use it to create and secure a future for myself and my family?
Kate (59) – Inheritance and Early Retirement
In this example, Kate’s parents left her with an inheritance. Kate always had an idea that she’d probably receive something from her parents, but this was a surprise. She wants to make sure she’s a good steward of this money and makes wise choices with it. She’d like guidance on what’s the best use of this money, including possibly adding it to her retirement funds.
Client Profile:
Kate, age 59, recently received an inheritance and wants to explore the idea of retiring sooner than she had planned.
She is an administrator at a local university and had originally planned to retire at around age 67. Her mother recently passed away and her parents’ estate has now been passed to her with an inheritance of around $800,000 in investments and savings. Kate had saved around $350,000 in her own retirement accounts and has $50,000 in other savings. She will also have Social Security and a small pension from the university but will not be eligible for either for several years.
Kate is concerned that if she retires early, she will lose her health insurance. She also is concerned that her income from Social Security and her pension will be less because of taking them early. She has a dream of starting a photography business and would also like to reserve some capital to start that, as well. Kate wants to know if retiring early is possible and what it would mean for her.
After getting to know her, Hunt Country Wealth Management will design a plan with the following goals:
- Understand the pros and cons of retiring now versus later.
- Guidance on if retiring now is realistic based on facts and retirement planning best practices.
- Understand the investments she inherited – risk levels, taxes, etc., and how they might fit into her financial plan.
- Understand her pension eligibility and how retiring early may affect her retirement benefits.
- Explore the possibility of funding her new business venture.
- Analysis of Kate’s retirement scenarios would include how to:
- minimize the risk of a bad stock market derailing her retirement.
- optimize her Social Security and Pension Plan.
- integrate her inheritance into her financial plans.
- protect her for a 35-year retirement and beyond.
- preserve principal.
- make the best choice as to which resources to use first, when and how.
- Plan for her health insurance costs until she reaches age 65 and will qualify for Medicare.
- Plan for a rising income to maintain standard of living for a 35-year retirement and beyond.
- Plan how to find start-up money for her new business venture.
- Create a system for how her income will be directly deposited in her bank account and taxes will be withheld.
Expected Results for Kate:
- Kate knows if retiring early is a wise decision.
- She knows the tradeoffs of retiring early versus waiting.
- She knows how much income she can expect.
- When she does retire, whether early or at her original retirement date, she will have confidence that she made an educated decision based on facts.
- She will know she was a good steward of her inheritance.
- With HCWM by her side, planning was easier than she thought.
