We do love it when someone refers a family member or friend to us. Sometimes the question is, “How can we introduce them to you?” Well, there are multiple ways but a very easy way is to simply forward them a link to this webpage.
Here are this week’s items:
The Retirement Checklist Challenge
Radon Stancil and Murs Tariq discuss the Retirement Checklist Challenge, a structured approach to evaluating how prepared you are for retirement. The goal of the challenge is to help you assess your readiness by scoring yourself on 34 key factors that contribute to a Secure Retirement Plan....
Radon Stancil and Murs Tariq introduce a Retirement Checklist covering Retirement Income Planning, Tax-Efficient Retirement Strategies, Medicare and Retirement, Long-Term Care Planning, Risk Management, and Estate Planning for Retirees. The goal of the challenge is to help you assess your readiness by scoring yourself on 34 key factors that contribute to a Secure Retirement Plan….
Today we’re going to walk you through the Retirement Checklist Challenge. This checklist covers five crucial areas: income planning, medical and healthcare, advanced financial planning, risk management, and tax-efficient strategies. Whether you’re preparing for retirement or already retired, this checklist helps you assess your preparedness and identify areas that need attention.
The goal? Score as high as possible—ideally, a perfect 34 out of 34! If your score is lower, it might be time to consult a financial professional to bridge any gaps. At the end of this blog, we’ll tell you how to get your complimentary copy of the Retirement Checklist so you can find your score. Let’s get started!
The Five Key Categories of the Retirement Checklist Challenge
1. Income Planning: Will Your Money Last?
One of the biggest fears retirees face is running out of money. Even if you’ve saved diligently, market downturns, unexpected expenses, and inflation can impact your financial security. The Retirement Checklist Challenge ensures you have a solid plan in place by addressing the following questions:
Do you have a clear budget or spending plan for retirement?
Have you identified your essential and discretionary expenses?
Do you know where your income will come from? (Social Security, pensions, investments, rental income, etc.)
Have you considered tax implications on different income sources?
Have you optimized your Social Security strategy to maximize benefits?
2. Medical and Healthcare Planning: Are You Covered?
Healthcare costs can be one of the biggest expenses in retirement. Planning ahead ensures you’re not caught off guard by unexpected medical bills or long-term care needs. Here are key considerations:
Do you understand your Medicare options and have a plan in place?
If retiring before age 65, have you considered health insurance options?
Have you factored in potential long-term care needs?
Do you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) or other healthcare funding strategies?
Medicare and long-term care planning are critical components of a secure retirement plan, ensuring you have adequate coverage for the future.
3. Advanced Financial Planning: Are Your Finances in Order?
Beyond basic budgeting and income planning, financial planning for retirement involves evaluating fees, estate planning, and overall financial structure:
Do you understand the fees associated with your investment accounts and financial advisor?
Have you reviewed your estate plan (wills, trusts, power of attorney)?
Have you updated beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and insurance policies?
Many retirees overlook estate planning, but having these documents in place protects your loved ones and ensures your wishes are carried out.
4. Risk Management: Are You Prepared for Market Volatility?
Market fluctuations are inevitable, so having a risk management strategy is key to preserving your wealth:
Have you assessed your risk tolerance as you approach retirement?
Does your retirement investment strategy include non-correlated assets?
Do you have a plan in place to protect against market downturns?
Having a balanced mix of assets, including alternative investments, can help minimize risks while still providing growth opportunities. If your risk exposure feels too high, adjusting your portfolio to align with your retirement goals may be necessary.
5. Tax-Efficient Strategies: Are You Minimizing Your Tax Burden?
Taxes don’t stop when you retire—strategic tax planning can help maximize your savings and reduce unnecessary tax burdens:
Have you considered Roth conversions to minimize taxable income later?
Are you taking advantage of charitable giving strategies for tax efficiency?
Have you planned for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts?
Do you have a strategy to minimize Social Security taxation?
Tax planning isn’t just about filing returns—it’s about implementing proactive strategies to reduce what you owe over time.
How to Get Your Retirement Checklist Score
This challenge isn’t just about completing a checklist—it’s about ensuring you have a secure retirement plan in place. If you’re working with Peace of Mind Wealth Management, our goal is that you easily score 34 out of 34!
What If Your Score Is Low?
If your score is below 30, don’t panic! It just means there are areas where you may need professional guidance. Whether it’s retirement income planning, Social Security strategies, estate planning, or risk management, we can help tailor a strategy that fits your needs.
To get your copy of the Retirement Checklist Challenge, simply email us at info@pomwealth.net or call our office at 919-787-8866 and request the Retirement Challenge checklist. It’s a fillable document that allows you to assess your readiness and identify areas for improvement.
Secure Your Retirement with a Plan
Retirement isn’t something you should leave to chance. Taking control now means enjoying financial stability later. The Retirement Checklist Challenge helps ensure you’re on the right track, giving you peace of mind as you approach retirement.
If you’d like more information on this topic, check out the article “Retirement Planning: The Key Steps to Retiring Comfortably”.
We do love it when someone refers a family member or friend to us. Sometimes the question is, “How can we introduce them to you?” Well, there are multiple ways but a very easy way is to simply forward them a link to this webpage. Here are this week’s items:
The High Net Worth Guide to Secure Your Retirement
Murs discuss the essential steps to creating a comprehensive financial plan designed for high-net-worth retirement. Joined by Nick Hymanson, CFP®, they walk through the emotional and financial transition from accumulating wealth during your working years to distributing that wealth to fund your retirement. …..
The High Net Worth Guide to Secure Your Retirement
When you’ve spent your life building wealth, transitioning from work to retirement can feel overwhelming. At Peace of Mind Wealth Management, we specialize in financial planning for retirement, and through our years of experience, we’ve seen what works—and what doesn’t—when preparing for this major life milestone. In this retirement planning guide, we’ll explore the key strategies high net worth individuals should consider……
When you’ve spent your life building wealth, transitioning from work to retirement can feel overwhelming. At Peace of Mind Wealth Management, we specialize in financial planning for retirement, and through our years of experience, we’ve seen what works—and what doesn’t—when preparing for this major life milestone. In this retirement planning guide, we’ll explore the key strategies high net worth individuals should consider, including managing sequence of returns risk, structuring your retirement investment strategy, planning for long-term care, and optimizing retirement withdrawal strategies.
So, whether you’re wondering “is it time to retire?” or trying to decide “when should I retire?“, this comprehensive guide will walk you through what it takes to secure your retirement.
The Shift From Work to Wealth
For many high-net-worth individuals, the hardest part of retirement isn’t financial—it’s emotional. After decades of saving, shifting from earning a paycheck to relying on your wealth can feel uncertain. The fear of running out of money or not having enough for the lifestyle you envisioned is real, but with the right strategy, it doesn’t have to define your retirement.
Along with the fear of running out of money comes questions like:
What if the market crashes early in my retirement?
How can I protect my wealth from unexpected downturns?
How do I protect myself from rising costs like healthcare and inflation?
These concerns are valid. Fortunately, there are proven strategies to protect against these risks.
Managing Sequence of Returns Risk
One of the most significant but least understood dangers to high net worth retirement is sequence of returns risk. This risk refers to the impact that the timing of poor market returns can have on your retirement savings, especially when you’re making regular withdrawals.
Consider this: Two retirees each start with $1 million. They withdraw the same amount annually and average the same return over a decade. But one retiree experiences negative returns in the early years of retirement, while the other experiences those negative returns later. Even with the same average return, the retiree who faced early losses may run out of money much faster.
This is why managing sequence of returns risk is critical. Having a retirement investment strategy that prepares for market downturns from the start helps protect your assets, ensuring you can keep paying yourself for decades to come.
The Three Bucket Strategy: Building a Solid Investment Foundation
Cash Bucket: This is your easily accessible money. It’s held in high-yield savings or money market accounts and is designed to cover emergencies and short-term expenses. For some, this might be $20,000. For others, several hundred thousand dollars. The right amount depends on your comfort level and cash flow needs.
Safety and Income Bucket: Designed to provide predictable income with limited or no market risk, this bucket covers your essential expenses. The goal is to generate a stable return—typically in the 4% to 8% range—to fund your retirement withdrawal strategies without worrying about market volatility.
Growth Bucket: This is your long-term growth engine. Invested in the market through stocks, ETFs, and alternatives, this bucket is meant to outpace inflation and support your financial needs 10, 20, or even 30 years into retirement.
By strategically allocating your assets into these buckets, you create a system where your essential income is protected while your long-term assets continue to grow.
Long-Term Care Planning for High Net Worth Individuals
Another major concern for retirees is long-term care. Costs for assisted living, nursing homes, and in-home care have risen dramatically and show no signs of slowing down. For high net worth individuals, long-term care planning is essential—not just to cover costs, but to protect your estate from being drained by healthcare expenses.
We work with our clients to create long-term care planning solutions that align with their overall retirement income planning goals. This may include hybrid long-term care insurance, self-funding strategies, or incorporating long-term care costs into the safety bucket of the Three Bucket Strategy.
Tax Strategies in Retirement
A major piece of risk management for high net worth individuals is managing taxes. Many retirees hold significant assets in pre-tax accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs. Without proper tax strategies in retirement, you may pay far more than necessary in taxes over your lifetime.
Tax planning should be integrated into your retirement checklist and considered before you retire. Strategies may include:
Roth conversions during lower income years
Tax-efficient withdrawal strategies
Managing Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
Coordinating Social Security and pension income with other taxable income
Crafting Your Peace of Mind Pathway
At Peace of Mind Wealth Management, our process for planning retirement revolves around what we call the Peace of Mind Pathway. Think of it as a GPS for your retirement journey. We help you define where you are today, where you want to go, and how to navigate the bumps along the way.
The Peace of Mind Pathway has three key phases:
Roadmap: We analyze your current financial picture, define your retirement goals, and identify the best path forward.
Implementation: We put your custom plan into action, from investment adjustments to cash flow planning and risk management.
Nurture: We continue monitoring your plan, adjusting as life changes, tax laws shift, and markets evolve.
This process ensures your plan is not only set up correctly but remains optimized for your evolving needs.
Is It Time to Retire? How to Know You’re Ready
Whether you’re five years away from retirement or contemplating if now is the time, having a clear plan is essential. High net worth individuals have more moving parts in their retirement strategies, which means more opportunities—but also more complexity. The earlier you start planning, the more options you have to protect and grow your wealth.
At the end of the day, retiring comfortably isn’t about hitting a magic number. It’s about having a strategic plan that provides reliable income, protects your lifestyle, and gives you peace of mind.
To learn more, read the article “Is It Time to Retire? Key Considerations”.
Ready to Secure Your Retirement?
By building a thoughtful plan that includes strategies for retirement income planning, risk management, long-term care planning, and tax strategies in retirement, you’ll be well on your way to retiring comfortably and living the life you’ve worked so hard to create
We do love it when someone refers a family member or friend to us. Sometimes the question is, “How can we introduce them to you?” Well, there are multiple ways but a very easy way is to simply forward them a link to this webpage.
Here are this week’s items:
Portfolio Update: Murs and I have recorded our portfolio update for March 3, 2025
Radon and Murs discuss the essential aspects of setting your retirement planning goals to ensure you’re not only prepared but also confident in your transition into retirement. Whether you are five to ten years out or already retired, having a clear retirement planning checklist is crucial to help you address areas like financial goal planning, lifestyle desires, and family considerations. …..
Retirement is a major milestone in life, and whether you are five to ten years away or already in retirement, having clear retirement planning goals is crucial. It’s not just about when you retire but also how you want to live during retirement. In this article, we will explore various retirement planning checklist items to help you prepare for the next phase of life……
Retirement is a major milestone in life, and whether you are five to ten years away or already in retirement, having clear retirement planning goals is crucial. It’s not just about when you retire but also how you want to live during retirement. Planning helps ensure financial security, peace of mind, and a fulfilling lifestyle in your golden years. In this article, we will explore various retirement planning checklist items to help you prepare for the next phase of life.
The Importance of Setting Retirement Goals
Many people approaching retirement ask, What should I be thinking about? The answer lies in financial goal planning—understanding your income sources, expenses, lifestyle choices, and future needs. The more comprehensive your plan, the more confidently you can retire.
Planning for Retirement: The Basics
A well-thought-out retirement planning checklist should include:
When to retire: Understanding if early retirement is an option.
Retirement income sources: Pensions, Social Security, and personal investments.
Tax planning for retirement: Strategies to minimize tax burdens.
Estate planning for retirement: Ensuring assets are distributed per your wishes.
Healthcare planning: Medicare, private insurance, and long-term care considerations.
Lifestyle and family goals: Planning for travel, hobbies, and family financial support.
Financial Planning for Retirement
Do You Have a Financial Plan in Place?
Before retiring, you need to answer these key questions:
Can I retire early?
Will I have enough money to sustain my lifestyle?
What adjustments should I make before retiring?
Many retirees aim for early retirement, but how to retire early involves bridging gaps in income, healthcare, and investments. For instance, Social Security starts at age 62, and Medicare eligibility begins at 65. If you retire before these ages, you’ll need to account for healthcare and income shortfalls.
Your retirement income will come from multiple sources, including:
Social Security
Pensions
Investment accounts (401(k), IRA, Roth IRA)
Annuities
Real estate income
Consulting or part-time work
Balancing these income sources with your expenses is essential to retiring comfortably. To ensure a steady income stream, it’s crucial to have a withdrawal strategy in place.
Tax Planning for Retirement
Taxes can significantly impact your retirement income. Smart tax planning for retirement includes:
Roth IRA conversions to minimize required minimum distributions (RMDs).
Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) for charitable giving.
Tax-efficient withdrawal strategies to reduce liabilities.
Estate planning to ensure tax-efficient wealth transfer.
To learn more, read the article “Minimizing Taxes in Retirement”.
Retirement Planning for Families
Many retirees factor in family goals when setting their retirement planning goals. Consider:
Financial support for children or grandchildren (e.g., weddings, education).
Retirement planning requires careful consideration of your financial, lifestyle, and legacy goals. A well-structured retirement planning checklist will help you navigate this journey with confidence.
If you want to understand all this a little better, we offer a complimentary phone call that you can schedule with us on our website. If we can’t answer all your questions in just 15 minutes, we’ll guide you to the next steps to find the answers you need.
