Today, you will learn about the questions people have when they are forced to retire and the three emotions that can affect financial planning greed, fear, and hope. We also talk about current news.

 

Main Questions Asked:

How to prevent my emotions from getting in the way of proper retirement planning?

Should I accept a buyout or take my pension in one lump sum?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

In the News

• Whenever there's a natural disaster there's a whole lot of bad actors who come in and take advantage of people. We hope people affected by Hurricane Florence aren’t being taken advantage of by shady characters or price gouging.
• Young people think older folks took Facebook away from them, and that's why they are doing Instagram and other social media platforms. Facebook has been a wonderful tool for grandparents to stay in touch and track what's going on in the lives of their kids and grandkids.
• However, there was a data breach of 50 million profiles. You need to be careful if you use Facebook as a login for other accounts. It's a good idea to use some type of service like LifeLock, so you know if there is a breach of your information.

 

People Who Are Being Forced Into Retirement

Joel wrote Forced to Retire, and it addresses this group of folks. This book will tell you the 7 things you need to figure out to make sure that you are on a proper financial footing for the rest of your life.

 

Questions People Have and How to Get to the Answer When Forced to Retire

• Should I accept a retirement buyout offer? Pretend money is not an issue and think about what you would want to do. Do you enjoy going to work? Do you feel like it's a big part of your life? Removing money from the situation can help you decide if a retirement buyout offer is for you. You also need to do an income analysis to make sure that you will be okay if you do retire today. You need to have enough money to cover all your needs for the rest of your life.
• Should I accept a pension buyout and receive a lump sum?This depends on your circumstances. Doing an analysis will tell you if you will be better off taking the buyout and rolling it over into another account or taking the guaranteed monthly payment.
• Should I take my severance as a one-time payment or should I take it over several months? It's usually better to spread the payment over several months. If you take the lump sum, they are going to take taxes out of it as if you made that amount every two weeks. You also need to make sure it doesn't affect your unemployment benefits.
• Should I try to find another job or just make retirement work? Many people are good savers and lived below their means, and they don't actually need to keep working. An income analysis can help you know if you are ready to retire or not. Retirement shouldn't be based on an arbitrary number.

 

The Role Emotions Can Play in Retirement Planning

• Greed. No one wants to say they are greedy, but a lot of people say that they are afraid of missing out. This is where greed comes into play. This can get clients into trouble when they start buying high and selling low.
• Fear in general. Getting scared and selling when you shouldn't, in an effort to protect your money. Fear can cause you to do this that’s why it's important to have a good financial plan.
• Hope. Hope is not a strategy. Not having a plan and just hoping you have enough to retire can leave you in trouble if an emergency comes along.

 

Links To Resources Mentioned

Money Map Retirement Review

1-800-757-0436

Get your free copy of Forced to Retire

Get your free copy of Lump Sum Pension Payment Guide

1-800-705-1232

Thank you for listening!