Retirement Planning: The Key to Financial Confidence
Retirement planning is an essential part of financial planning. It’s never too early or too late to start planning for your retirement, but the earlier you start, the better off you’ll be. Retirement planning involves setting aside funds and developing a plan to help see to it that you can maintain your lifestyle after you retire. The key to a successful retirement plan is to start early, be consistent, and adjust your plan as your circumstances change.
Why is Retirement Planning Essential?
The finish line is finally in sight. All those years spent running in the rat race—a.k.a., the grind of the everyday working world—are nearly over. Hard as it once seemed to imagine, I’m finally getting ready to retire. It’s a great feeling, no doubt about it. I’ve spent more than forty years working long and hard, all the while planning for and looking ahead to this time that once seemed like a distant dream. Yet, now this dream is about to become a reality, I can’t seem to shake a strange, new-found feeling of . . . What? Apprehension? Uncertainty? Fear of the unknown? I guess what I’m really asking is, “What do I do now?”
The answer is simple: retirement planning. Retirement can be a scary and uncertain time, but with proper planning and guidance, it can also be one of the more fulfilling and rewarding times of your life. My name is Brett Shunkwiler, and I’m the president of Shunkwiler Financial in Lincoln, Nebraska, with an office in Omaha as well. As a registered investment advisor representative and retirement planner, I’ve seen firsthand the importance of retirement planning and the impact it can have on someone’s life.
Retirement planning is all about making sure you have the necessary financial resources to live the life you want after you retire. It’s about making sure your assets and savings are properly allocated and invested so that they can provide you with a sustainable and increasing stream of income that can maintain your current standard of living throughout your lifetime. And it’s about making sure you have a plan in place for dealing with the rising health care costs and potential long-term care expenses that come along with growing older.
Turning Your Assets Into Retirement Income
Many people who come to see me for the first time have done an excellent job of saving for their retirement futures. They have a variety of different accounts, including checking and savings accounts, CDs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuity contracts, and life insurance policies. But often, they have little understanding of how to turn these assets and savings into income in retirement.
That’s where my team and I come in. We ask the tough and essential questions that many people haven’t thought about yet. We help our clients create a plan for their retirement that takes into account all of their financial assets, including Social Security, and we help them understand the taxability of their current accounts and the benefits of converting some of their tax-deferred accounts into tax-free accounts. We also help our clients plan for potential long-term care expenses and explore options beyond traditional long-term care policies that can help offset those costs.
But perhaps more importantly, we help our clients gain confidence Retirement planning can be overwhelming, but with appropriate guidance and expertise, it can also be empowering. Our goal is to help our clients feel confident in their retirement futures, knowing that they have a plan in place that can allow them to live the life they want.
So if you’re asking yourself, “Now what do I do?” When it comes to retirement planning, the answer is simple: reach out to a retirement planner like me. Retirement planning isn’t something you should do on your own. It’s a complex and ever-changing process that requires expertise and experience. But with the right guidance and support, you can create a retirement plan that can allow you to live the life you want after you retire.
Interested in learning more about taking control of your retirement?
Meet one of our advisors at one of our local complimentary retirement planning luncheons in Omaha and Lincoln, NE or set up an introductory call today!
Not associated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other government agency.
Shunkwiler Financial does not offer legal or tax advice. Please consult the appropriate professional regarding your individual circumstance.
