Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. I’m your host Ashley Micciche, co-owner of True North Retirement Advisors, an independent financial advisory practice managing $340 million in client assets. I’m a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, and I started this podcast because I love helping people just like you gain clarity and make a plan for the retirement you envision. 

The theme this week on the podcast is: Listener Case Study: One Year To Retirement

About a month ago, I received an email from a listener of the podcast. Her questions and issues she’s facing as she nears retirement are so common, I thought it would make a great case study for this week’s theme of the podcast. 

Monica writes: Hello Ashley,

I have discovered your podcasts recently as I have been exploring setting us up for retirement. I enjoy your podcasts very much and look forward to them every day. I am just recently educating myself in all the ins and outs of retirement and investing and I feel like I am learning a lot but I know i have more to learn. I wish I had started earlier, but everyday life has been so busy and retirement always seemed so far off and something that just happens. Now I realize how much planning is involved and how important it is.

My husband and I are both 63. He is already retired due to some health issues and collects a small social security check. I am looking forward to retiring myself sometime soon,possibly as early as August, or maybe hold out until next year, when I turn 64. 

Up until recently I was aggressively invested in stocks in my 401k. I was always calm about market fluctuations. However, now as I approach retirement all the volatility in the world and in the stock market has me worried. In January I moved all my 401k funds into the stable value fund. Prior to that I was invested in primarily large cap funds. 

I know I cannot keep it all in the stable value fund long term so I am looking for an allocation strategy when I feel ready to [get back in the market]. I am not a fan of bonds and I think the stable value fund is a better choice for now. I would be willing to leave some money in there as I reallocate other funds into stocks to hopefully increase [growth] in retirement.

I read about a philosophy of setting aside 5 years worth of required retirement investment withdrawals to use during a strong and long market downturn, allowing the market to recover without making withdrawals during this time. 

Thank you so much, Ashley!”

There are just so many great questions and issues to pull out of her email! So this week on the podcast, I’ll share with you my advice for Monica as she approaches retirement. We’ll talk about the biggest issue she’s facing, which is getting out of cash. I’ll also share with you my advice for setting aside enough cash, and what I uncovered through further conversations with Monica - what she’ll need to do to pay off debt before retirement, and her 1 non-negotiable when it comes to when and how she plans to retire. 

I hope what I have to share with you this week will help you make smart and thoughtful decisions with your retirement, and help answer questions you have about your own retirement, especially if you’re knocking on retirement’s door - like Monica is. 

And while I am careful to not lead you astray, personal finance is not an exact science. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone, so I encourage you to disregard anything I say that may not be helpful for you, and to consult your own financial, tax, and legal advisors regarding your own individual situation. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche...and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance