Welcome to “Actual Retirement,” a brand new column for advisors on WealthManagement.com. Since I’m an previous journalist, let me clarify the column through the previous 5W+H journalism formulation, with some liberties taken of their order:
What. “Actual Retirement” will supply info, insights and opinions meant to offer worth to advisors—and, by extension, probably assist shoppers—in navigating at the moment’s advanced retirement panorama. It’s delivered from the attitude of somebody (me) residing in at the moment’s retirement.
When and The place. Weekly, right here within the Retirement part of WealthManagement.com.
Why. Retirement circa 2025 is sophisticated, complicated and in contrast to what many individuals anticipate. As somebody who has been “retired” for 10 years, I can inform you that my retirement has differed from the hazy notions I had in my 50s. It’s additionally completely different from the retirement of my late mother and father and in-laws and lots of of our pals. Most advisors know that every consumer’s retirement has its personal twists and nuances. True, some retirees could also be residing the life idealized in monetary companies advertisements—those that present unusually match, prosperous-looking {couples} with luxuriant salt-and-pepper hair staying completely coifed as they take pleasure in a sundown on a balmy tropical seashore (OK, I’m envious). For many retirees, nevertheless, it’s not like that. And even for these residing the dream life, issues can change immediately. As a retiree who has handled sudden challenges, I hope to level to points and potential issues that youthful folks—together with their non-retired advisors—typically miss.
Retirement is multi-faceted, and lots of advisors focus largely on its funding points. That focus is comprehensible. Educated investing is vital to creating it by way of a number of many years of retirement. Advisors’ funding focus can be a rational response to many consumers’ obsessive curiosity in funding efficiency. Nonetheless, investments are just one piece of at the moment’s whole retirement puzzle. Like a puzzle, seeing the entire image of retirement requires non-investment-related financial points (particularly spending) and the various different points that have an effect on funds and which many advisors hesitate to the touch on, akin to these involving well being, household, relationships and feelings. With better perception into these areas, I imagine advisors improve their alternative to assist a better variety of unserved retirees who’re prepared to pay for recommendation however can’t discover it.
Who. That is the half about me and my {qualifications} to opine about retirement to readers who cope with retirement points each day. However the commonly low regard wherein the media is held, my lengthy profession in monetary journalism (with stints in PR for main Wall Avenue organizations) has given me distinctive insights into investing, finance and the advisory enterprise. Right here’s my CV in 15 seconds: BBA from Baruch Faculty in New York, MS in journalism from Northwestern College; enterprise reporter at Fairchild Publications and The Miami Herald; PR roles on the New York Inventory Alternate, the Securities Trade Affiliation (now SIFMA) and Drexel Burnham Lambert; editor of On Wall Avenue (the advisor-oriented sibling of Monetary Planning), analysis editor of Institutional Investor, and deputy editor of InvestmentNews, the place I additionally ran the annual convention on retirement revenue. Presently, and for the previous dozen years, I’ve been freelancing as a ghostwriter and editor for main asset managers and monetary publications, creating content material for institutional, advisor and retail audiences.
My spouse, who absolutely retired six years in the past, and l stay within the New York suburbs the place I function board president of our cooperative condominium constructing (fortunate me). We spend appreciable time chauffeuring our two grandchildren who stay close by to after-school actions, usually go to and babysit our two different grandchildren in Connecticut and spend what looks as if numerous hours filling out kinds, deleting unsolicited mail, and ignoring a each day bombardment of robo and rip-off calls—often about Medicare plans or photo voltaic panels—that defy all our makes an attempt to dam.
How. Over time, I’ve been lucky to know many specialists in numerous points of retirement. With their cooperation, I plan to attract on their experience and share their knowledgeable views of varied points of retirement, together with my observations and opinions. First up shall be a chat with my buddy and now “retired” guru of Social Safety, Mary Beth Franklin.
Lastly, I encourage you to electronic mail me your ideas, solutions, feedback and criticisms at [email protected]. I promise to reply so long as you’re not attempting to promote me photo voltaic panels.
