Something that seemed so far away when you started your first job—is suddenly here.

You’ve dreamed and fantasized about the days when your time can truly be your own. But now, as retirement is coming faster with the close of each workday, are you truly ready?

Or, if you’ve already retired , are you wondering if your plan is really on track?

COVID-19 taught us a lesson we already knew: just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, ANYTHING can happen. And, it usually does.

Today, many people are relying almost entirely on stock market outcomes and money markets earning near zero.

If you’re like most people retiring in the 2020’s, you may have many doubts about how the markets will continue to do amid rising government debt. “What if the market falls right after I retire and my savings are cut in half? How will that affect my income for life?. There are other common worries, such as “Will Social Security always be there for me?” Or, if it is, “will they find a way to cut my benefits?” And let’s not forget about inflation and taxes. We all know that ten and twenty years from now, the cost of everything we buy today will DOUBLE. Taxes will likely rise.

Therefore, it’s easy to see why the most successful retirees own pensions and annuities. They have a guaranteed income stream, audited and regulated. There’s less to worry about when you know that your income will exceed your expenses deep into the future.

There’s less to worry about TODAY when ALL of your tomorrows are completely covered by safe, secure streams of income.

Time Magazine and The Wall Street Journal articles have covered this phenomenon: Retirees who are surrounded by their family and friends — and who also have a substantial check coming in every month for the rest of their lives — are much happier, according to articles published in both publications. They also live longer, studies show.

Time stated that “the results (of the study) offer universal lessons, the main one being the importance of guaranteed income in retirement. Owning a house also helps, reinforcing what is commonly called the American Dream. The highest happiness readings came from pensioners aged 65-69, who scored 7.8 on a 10-point scale. But all pension-collecting age groups scored at least 7.6—ahead of every other age group save for teens, who generally haven’t yet experienced financial stress and also scored 7.8. That makes sense because the No. 1 worry of retirees is of running out of money. Individuals who have a set income for life remove a great deal of stress from their lives.”

Retirees used to get enough money from Social Security and a traditional pension to cover their living expenses. But few employers now provide pensions, putting the onus of saving —and paying themselves a pension—on the employee. Social Security payments equal only about 40% of the average wage earner’s pre-retirement income.

Therefore , it becomes easy to see why researchers at Wharton, MIT, Yale, and Boston University have concluded that job number one in retirement is recognizing that giving up your paychecks from work
takes you immediately from the ACCUMULATION phase directly to the DE-CUMULATION phase.

Why is that a problem?

Because in your working years (the Accumulation Phase) you are constantly ADDING to your 401(k). If the market happens to be down, you are buying on the dips. This is S.M.A.R.T.

After you retire, however, you are SUBTRACTING dollars every time you take a withdrawal for income. When the market is down, you are suddenly SELLING on the dips. This can accelerate the depletion of your retirement lump sum. Add some inflation, a recession here and there, and higher taxes down the road, and you can see the problem.

This is why more retiring engineers, teachers, business owners, medical professionals, health care and government workers are converting a part of their retirement rollover funds into guaranteed lifetime income streams with carefully selected income annuities. Unlike the annuities of old, these highly rated NEXT GENERATION annuities keep you in control of your principal and protect your heirs at the same time. They can pay you and your spouse an income equivalent to five to nine percent of your investment, for life, depending on age and deferral period.

Finally, it’s possible to give both spouses peace of mind about leaving the financial security of work.

Your rollover IRA can now deliver a joint lifetime pension income for BOTH SPOUSES, backed by regulated, audited reserves. The safe, higher paying stream of cash in your “income bucket” can give you more confidence to place more capital in sensible growth investments.

The IQ Wealth Smarter Bucketing Plan™ can give you back that feeling of confidence you are looking for. By planning smarter, and investing smarter you may end up sleeping a little better at night and begin planning for better times ahead. Learning more is easy: simply request a free 15 minute phone call or office meeting with no obligation. We’ll share the details with you. Learn what’s working now!