Case study
Enjoying Retirement
Overview
After retiring last month, Dave, 66, and Susan, 65, want to enjoy their free time and find someone to help them navigate their retirement journey. Dave has a significant amount of stock in his former employer, which he would like to diversify, and Susan's employer has offered several pension options, including a lump-sum payout.
Goals
- Find meaning in retirement
- Spend more time enjoying educational and leisure travel
- Enjoy quality time with their growing families
The challenge
Dave and Susan want to collaborate with a trustworthy and competent professional who will help them navigate retirement.
- Finding a trustworthy professional
- Diversifying company stock
- Not running out of money
- Minimizing taxes
- Overcoming inflation
4 Key Questions
- How much, if any, of Dave’s company stock should be kept?
- What pension option best fits Dave and Susan’s risk tolerance and goals?
- When should Dave and Susan start taking Social Security benefits?
- What can Dave and Susan do to protect against inflation?
Our approach
Meeting Dave and Susan where they are
to help them evaluate risks and opportunities
Dave has always assumed he and Susan would begin drawing Social Security when they retire, but he wants to know if that’s really the best choice to maximize income and protect against inflation. Dave also wants to know whether he should sell his company stock and what pension choice Susan should elect.
Our results
A custom approach that balances income needs,
economic concerns, and legacy desires.
- Result 1
Dave and Susan worked with Approach Retirement to move Dave’s company stock into a brokerage account utilizing the net unrealized appreciation rules and liquidate the shares tax-free over time using the zero-percent long-term capital gain rate. - Result 2
Dave and Susan have a framework for evaluating which pension payout option best fits their risk tolerance, income needs, and legacy desires. - Result 3
Dave and Susan have a Social Security claiming strategy that coordinates with their other retirement income and maximizes their future Social Security cost of living adjustments.
Note: The above case study is hypothetical and does not involve an actual Approach Retirement client. No portion of the content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee of a certain result if Approach Retirement is engaged to provide investment advisory services. Each client's situation is unique and will affect the strategies that can be used for that client.
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How Will Inflation Affect My Retirement?
If you’re in or entering your retirement years and watching the rise of inflation as we experienced in 2022 and beyond, you might be looking at your portfolio and wondering if it can weather the storm.
- Will I have to change my lifestyle?
- How will this affect my savings in the long run?
- Do I need to look at my daily spending habits?
As prices rise, the cost of everything from groceries to healthcare can quickly eat away at your savings. So, what can you do to protect yourself and your retirement nest egg from the effects of inflation?
Here are some things you might consider.
