The Lineage Group helps many hard working people design and execute investment plans for their retirement so they can truly enjoy their golden years. This is how we might work with a retired couple to give them comfort and confidence as they started the next phase of their life together.
Retirement is a milestone that many look forward to. One couple worked hard for over 40 years and earned the opportunity to remove themselves from the grind of a 9-to-5 job, a boss, and a long commute, but still receive a paycheck. They wanted to have a stress-free retirement, and that meant they needed to get focused and execute a strategic investment plan that would allow them to live their retirement life as they had always envisioned.
To help this couple, it would be incredibly important to develop an intelligent strategy that would give a clear picture of their financial status. We would typically sit down with the couple and hold in-person meetings to help identify their true cost of living and make educated assumptions about the potential changes in their budget over the remainder of their retirement due to relocation, medical costs and inflation.
Once that was done, we would review all their sources of income. By calculating the client’s net cost of living and subtracting their established systematic income (Social Security, pensions, etc.) we would be left with how much income they would need to generate from their existing investments.
The next step would be to define a distribution rate and plan. The distribution rate would be calculated to figure out how much of their nest egg is required to fulfill the income needed to live the lifestyle they want. The plan would then take shape based around the investments that could generate the income needed. Once we determined there were sufficient funds beyond the income needs, we would recommend establishing both a cash reserve — which serves as a security blanket for easy access by the client — as well as an intermediate “what if” account to invest at a agreed upon risk tolerance level.
After the three investment allocations would be filled (income, cash and “What if”), it would be time to focus on designing a wealth transfer plan. We would review insurances and will/trust documents to confirm the correct registration of property and business entities. We would then develop a plan that not only ensured their future, but their family’s future as well.
Our ability to take complex income strategies and explain it in an understandable format would help potential clients choose the right path for them. Each investment brings a list of pros and cons that we would relay back to our client to make sure we were all on the same page. It is crucial for the client to understand how to follow the performance of their plan and track the asset values, so we would sit down and walk them through the details of their plan. With online access to their account and an introduction to our support staff, we would provide our client with a system that would work hard for them as they start enjoying the life that they worked so hard to achieve.