After years of hard work, you're finally ready to retire. You've accumulated a comfortable nest egg, but that's not all there is to it. You'll need to make some critical financial decisions as you make this transition. For example, you need to figure out exactly how to get the money from your portfolio you'll be spending during your 20+ years of retirement.
Here are some of the major things to address that I review with my clients as they reach this next stage of their lives.
1. Make sure you don't risk running out of money.
Follow the adage "measure twice, cut once." As our clients approach retirement, we run annual financial independence analyses to make sure they are in a position to say goodbye to full-time practice. We model projected monthly spending in retirement, adding other one-off costs and anticipated expenses — such as periodic car purchases, a travel budget, annual healthcare costs, and a safety margin to cover unforeseen circumstances and events.
2. Replace your paychecks.
The most common question we get from clients who are on the cusp of retiring is, "How do I replace the paychecks I've been receiving for 30+ years?"
Method 1: Monthly checks.
