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  31. <title>How Social Security Spousal Benefits May Change My Claim Date</title>
  32. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date</link>
  33. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date/#comments</comments>
  35. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Dana Anspach]]></dc:creator>
  36. <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2025 08:36:24 +0000</pubDate>
  37. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  38. <category><![CDATA[financial planning]]></category>
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  41. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16362</guid>
  42.  
  43. <description><![CDATA[<p>After 18 years of writing about Social Security and conducting hundreds of analyses for singles, couples, widows, widowers, and divorcees, I figured I had my own claiming strategy nailed down. [&#8230;]</p>
  44. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date/">How Social Security Spousal Benefits May Change My Claim Date</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  45. ]]></description>
  46. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>After 18 years of writing about Social Security and conducting hundreds of analyses for singles, couples, widows, widowers, and divorcees, I figured I had my own claiming strategy nailed down.</p>
  47. <p>So, when I finally ran my own customized analysis, <strong>my eyes popped open</strong> in astonishment at the recommendation I saw!</p>
  48. <p>Naturally, I assumed I’d claim at 70—not a day earlier. That’s the go-to advice for healthy, married high earners.</p>
  49. <p>I was 100% certain the software would confirm it.</p>
  50. <p>But it didn’t.</p>
  51. <h2><strong>Here’s what happened.</strong></h2>
  52. <hr /><p><em>I thought I had my Social Security claiming strategy figured out...until I didn&#039;t. Here&#039;s what happened.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fhow-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date%2F&#038;text=I%20thought%20I%20had%20my%20Social%20Security%20claiming%20strategy%20figured%20out...until%20I%20didn%27t.%20Here%27s%20what%20happened.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  53. <p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16384" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-24-4.24.12-PM.png" alt="when should I claim social security" width="444" height="660" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-24-4.24.12-PM.png 444w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-24-4.24.12-PM-202x300.png 202w" sizes="(max-width: 444px) 100vw, 444px" /></p>
  54. <hr>
  55. <h1>How Spousal Benefits May Change My Claim Date</h1>
  56. <p>Until two years ago, I was unmarried and hadn’t spent much time on my own claiming strategy. I’m in great health— my <a href="https://novoslabs.co/product/novos-age/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Novos Epigenic Age Report</a> pegs my biological age at 45 – nine years younger than my actual age. (Health aficionados – check it out!)</p>
  57. <p>I wanted to maximize my guaranteed, inflation-adjusted lifetime income. Unless my health took a major turn, claiming before 70 wasn’t on the radar. For most healthy, single individuals with assets or income to draw on between 62 and 70, that’s the approach I recommend.</p>
  58. <p><strong>Then I got married to a Canadian.</strong></p>
  59. <p>He is three years my senior and has no prior U.S. work history.</p>
  60. <p>Still, I didn’t give it much thought. I updated our retirement projections for the last two years, continuing to use my standard assumption for claiming at age 70.</p>
  61. <p>But this year, the details started to matter.</p>
  62. <hr>
  63. <h2><strong>What changed?&nbsp;</strong></h2>
  64. <p>Two significant changes made a bigger impact than I realized.&nbsp; <strong>First,</strong> I&#8217;m now 54 (my husband is 57), and have entered the timeframe where the details matter.</p>
  65. <p>When someone is within ten years of age 62—the earliest you can claim benefits—I stop using rough estimates. That’s when I switch to detailed calculations based on actual earnings history and projected work years.</p>
  66. <p>I diligently entered my earnings history and projected earnings from now through age 70 into <a href="https://www.covisum.com/solutions/social-security-timing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social Security Timing</a>, my preferred advisor-facing software package for this function.</p>
  67. <p><strong>Second,</strong> I got married, and my husband will only have 10 years of work history that will &#8220;count&#8221; toward Social Security.&nbsp; Unlike in the past, I had to figure out how to handle my husband’s earnings. He’s self-employed and will barely log ten years of U.S. work history before his Full Retirement Age (FRA), which is 67.</p>
  68. <hr>
  69. <h2><strong>How Social Security calculates your benefits</strong></h2>
  70. <p>It&#8217;s worth taking a brief detour in my story to explain how Social Security calculates your benefits:</p>
  71. <ol>
  72. <li>Take your highest 35 years of earnings.</li>
  73. <li>Index them to inflation, resulting in AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings).</li>
  74. <li>Run AIME through the <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/bendpoints.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bend points</a> for the year you reach age 62. This calculates a monthly benefit amount called your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). (See graphic for detail on bend points – uses 2022 data – however, they are indexed to inflation each year.)</li>
  75. <li>Post age 62, your PIA increases based on the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).</li>
  76. <li>After age 62, new earnings aren’t inflation-indexed for the AIME—but if they’re higher than one of your lowest 35 years, they can still boost your benefit.</li>
  77. </ol>
  78. <p>Based on the numbers, my husband’s earnings weren’t likely to generate a retirement benefit larger than his <em>spousal benefit</em>. Even with ten years of work, he’d still have <strong>25 years of zeroes</strong> in his record.</p>
  79. <figure id="attachment_16363" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16363" style="width: 900px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HowSocialSecurityCalculatesYourBenefit.png"><img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16363" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HowSocialSecurityCalculatesYourBenefit.png" alt="" width="900" height="568" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HowSocialSecurityCalculatesYourBenefit.png 900w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HowSocialSecurityCalculatesYourBenefit-300x189.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HowSocialSecurityCalculatesYourBenefit-768x485.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16363" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">A graphic explaining how Social Security calculates your benefits.</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  80. <hr>
  81. <h2><strong>How spousal benefits work</strong></h2>
  82. <p>If you’ve been married for at least one year, you may be eligible for a spousal benefit of up to 50% of your spouse’s FRA benefit—if you claim at your FRA or later. You’ll receive whichever is higher: your own benefit or the spousal. Not both.</p>
  83. <ul>
  84. <li><strong>Note:</strong> FRA is age 67 for anyone born Jan. 2, 1960, or later. Survivor benefits use a different FRA. Don’t confuse the two!</li>
  85. <li><strong>Note:</strong> Spousal benefits don’t grow past FRA and are reduced if claimed before FRA.</li>
  86. <li><strong>Note:</strong> To claim a spousal benefit, you and your spouse must both be age 62, and your spouse must have filed for their benefits before you are eligible for a spousal benefit.</li>
  87. <li><strong>Note:</strong> Divorced? If you were married 10+ years and remain unmarried, you may be eligible for an ex-spouse benefit. (Different rules apply.)</li>
  88. </ul>
  89. <p>In our case, we only need to focus on the spousal benefit rules. But I can’t stress this enough: there are distinct—and often confusing—rules for each benefit type. Here’s a quick breakdown:</p>
  90. <ul>
  91. <li><strong>Retirement benefits</strong> – Based on your own earnings record.</li>
  92. <li><strong>Spousal benefits</strong> – Based on your spouse’s record. You must be age 62+, and your spouse must have filed.</li>
  93. <li><strong>Divorced spouse benefits</strong> – Available if you were married 10+ years and remain unmarried. Your ex does not need to file first.</li>
  94. <li><strong>Survivor benefits (current spouse passes away)</strong> – You must have been married at least 9 months. Can claim as early as age 60. Different FRA applies. Can switch later to your own benefit.</li>
  95. <li><strong>Ex-Spouse Survivor benefits (divorced &amp; ex-spouse passes away)</strong> – Available if the marriage lasted 10+ years and you were not remarried before age 60. Switching options also apply.</li>
  96. <li><strong>Disability benefits</strong> – Eligibility based on medical condition and work credits.</li>
  97. <li><strong>Benefits for dependents</strong> – May apply if you have a child under age 18, disabled, or still in school.</li>
  98. </ul>
  99. <p>If you are in any of these situations, don’t assume the rules that apply to one benefit type are universal. There are nuances to each benefit type. I’ve captured only the highlights in my list above.</p>
  100. <hr>
  101. <h2><strong>Our Recommended Claiming Strategy</strong></h2>
  102. <p>Back to my story&#8230;so what did the software recommend based on my earnings alone?</p>
  103. <p><strong>Claim at 67.</strong></p>
  104. <p>I stared at the screen.</p>
  105. <p>This can’t be right.</p>
  106. <p>What about maximizing survivor benefits? What about longevity risk? I used life expectancies of 90 for each of us, which, in this software package, impacts the calculations.</p>
  107. <p>Perturbed, I bumped life expectancy to 95 for each of us. It moved my recommendation out one year – to 68.</p>
  108. <p>“What?” my brain exclaimed. “What assumptions get me to my planned age 70 claiming?”</p>
  109. <h2><strong>Inflation and Return Assumptions</strong></h2>
  110. <p>I began experimenting with assumptions, such as the assumed annual inflation rate (currently 2.4%) and the assumed real rate of return (currently 2.55%, based on Treasury data). Both of these inputs impact the projections and recommendations.</p>
  111. <p>The real rate of return is what you expect to earn—safely—<em>above</em> inflation. Add that to the inflation rate, and that would be the total investment return you might expect &#8211; in this example, 4.95% (2.4 + 2.55).</p>
  112. <p>The real rate of return is used to take the future cash flows expected from Social Security and turn them into a present value number – essentially what lump sum would you have to have, earning a real rate of return of 2.55% or more, that would deliver the same cash flows as Social Security. That lump sum view allows you to compare claiming strategies on an apples-to-apples basis in <em>today’s </em>dollars. In our case, changing these assumptions did not change my recommended strategy.</p>
  113. <p>Here’s why.</p>
  114. <hr>
  115. <h2><strong>Spousal Benefits and Age Intersect</strong></h2>
  116. <p><strong>I’m the higher earner—but not the <em>older</em> spouse.</strong> At 67, my FRA, my husband can claim a spousal benefit – and even if we live a long, long time, the extra monthly amount we get by me delaying until 70 doesn’t make up for the three years where he gets nothing if I delay until age 70.</p>
  117. <p>While I understood the math, I still felt incredulous. Naturally, I ran a second analysis—nerd mode fully engaged.</p>
  118. <p>I went over to <a href="https://opensocialsecurity.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Open Social Security</a>, a free online program, to run the numbers there.&nbsp; (Fritz provides a detailed analysis of this tool and how he used it in his post on <strong><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-determine-when-to-claim-social-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to Determine When to Claim Social Security</a>.</strong>)</p>
  119. <p>And it got even more complicated!</p>
  120. <h2><strong>Open Social Security</strong></h2>
  121. <p>At Open Social Security, when the answers initially didn’t make sense, I discovered a tiny box at the top that says “Click here to hide the selection list.” I clicked it and it opened an expanded list of options, where I could then click “still working.”&nbsp;</p>
  122. <p>Then I entered our PIA, the approximate month we’ll stop working, and our monthly earnings until the month we retire. (I don’t like that I can’t input actual earnings into this package. It’s fine for a ballpark estimate, but not great for people with complex earnings trajectories.)</p>
  123. <p>The recommended strategy? I claim at 66 and 8 months, and my husband at 69 and 6 months.</p>
  124. <p>Hmmmmm… &nbsp;</p>
  125. <hr>
  126. <h2><strong>The Earnings Limit</strong></h2>
  127. <p>At 66, I will still be subject to the <a href="https://www.sensiblemoney.com/learn/dont-get-pinged-by-the-social-security-earnings-limit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earnings limit</a>, which reduces your benefit if you claim before FRA and earn more than the annual adjusted limit.</p>
  128. <p>I turn 66 in May 2037. I would be 66 for 7 months that year. If I claimed at 66, my benefits would be reduced $1 for every $2 earned over the limit for the 2037 calendar year.</p>
  129. <p>However, Social Security uses two earnings limits—one for years before FRA, and a higher one for the calendar year you attain FRA.</p>
  130. <p>In your FRA calendar year, a higher earnings limit applies, and only earnings <em>before the month</em> you reach FRA are counted. At 66 and 8 months (2038), I will be within the calendar year where I reach my FRA – so a higher earnings limit applies, and only earnings before FRA count. So, technically, I could start benefits a few months before my FRA and would not be subject to the earnings limit for those few months. But just because I could, doesn&#8217;t mean I should. I would be quite reluctant to claim any time before FRA.</p>
  131. <hr>
  132. <h2>Why Different Recommendations?</h2>
  133. <p>So why did the two tools offer recommendations that differ by four months? I’ve gone down this rabbit hole before. It usually comes down to how each software calculates present value. This time, I chose not to investigate.</p>
  134. <p>Instead, I was deep in calculation frenzy (like shark frenzy for nerds in spreadsheet mode), so I went back to Social Security Timing, where I tested different earnings scenarios to see when my husband might qualify for a benefit of his own.</p>
  135. <p>If he earns enough, the recommended strategy changes – he should claim at 67, receiving his retirement benefit. I would claim at 70, maximizing my retirement and survivor benefit. And when I claim at 70, he instantly becomes eligible for a spousal benefit, which would be more than his retirement benefit, so he would begin receiving what I call a spousal “top-off payment” to level-up his benefit amount to the full spousal amount.</p>
  136. <p>Basically, you get your retirement benefit or the spousal benefit – whichever is more. If the spousal amount is more, the calculation pays your benefit first, and then the difference is added as the spousal amount. I call it a “top off”.</p>
  137. <hr>
  138. <h2><strong>What’s On the Line</strong></h2>
  139. <p>The difference between best and worst (claiming as early as possible) strategies was <strong>$200,000</strong> in terms of present value, assuming I live to 95. That’s a lot of money on the line.</p>
  140. <p>However, as we delved into nuances, such as claiming ages of 67 or 70, the differences in outcomes became smaller. Perhaps $30,000, $40,000, or up to $80,000 is at stake. Still not pocket change.</p>
  141. <p>There is real money at stake in this decision.</p>
  142. <p>So, what will we decide?</p>
  143. <hr>
  144. <h2><strong>The Unique Characteristic You Can’t Get Anywhere Else</strong></h2>
  145. <p>We have a decade before my husband’s FRA – so we have time to figure it out.</p>
  146. <p>But most likely – I’ll delay until 70.</p>
  147. <p><strong>Why?</strong></p>
  148. <p>Retirement comes with risks—and not everything can be measured with a rate-of-return lens. What if I live to 100? In my mind, I’ve always planned to. Social Security provides <strong>lifelong inflation-adjusted income</strong> – a unique characteristic you can’t get from investments or anywhere else.</p>
  149. <p>Essentially, Social Security becomes a unique puzzle piece in our plan—doing what no other investment can.</p>
  150. <p>People who claim early to “invest the difference” are missing this point entirely. They are also frequently neglecting to factor in the value of future inflation adjustments, taxation, their own future cognitive abilities to maintain an investment program, and, if married, the value of the survivor benefit using joint-life expectancy odds. &nbsp;</p>
  151. <h2><strong>What About the System Running Out?</strong></h2>
  152. <p>The annual Social Security Trustees report has just been released, and headlines are vying for our attention with claims of Social Security’s impending “insolvency.” I see frequent queries in retirement planning chat groups from people considering claiming at 62—because they fear that if they don’t, they’ll get nothing.</p>
  153. <p>It doesn’t work this way. In the software, I can click a button that implements a 21% benefit cut. And guess what? It doesn’t change the recommendation. Because if you delayed, you’re still getting 79% of a larger number. And that number is still going up with inflation, and providing a unique benefit that no other asset can provide.</p>
  154. <p>I don’t know what is going to happen – but I do fear Congress will wait too long to act. In the 80’s the system was facing imminent insolvency – potentially a few months of benefit payments remaining. You can read an excellent overview of it – and a comparison to what is going on today at <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47040">Congress.gov</a>.</p>
  155. <p>I do believe the system is a success and should continue. And I do believe we should all tell our representatives we’d like them to prioritize this now – and not procrastinate a day longer.</p>
  156. <hr>
  157. <h2><strong>Conclusion:&nbsp; My Take-Away</strong></h2>
  158. <p>This whole experience reminded me that rules of thumb don’t cut it as you approach retirement.</p>
  159. <p>While reporters love simple axioms—Social Security and “simple” don’t belong in the same sentence.</p>
  160. <p>As you&#8217;re planning for retirement, don&#8217;t finalize your Social Security claiming strategy without doing your research. Don&#8217;t let the headlines scare you into making a poor decision.&nbsp; Also, recognize that spousal benefits can make a big difference in when you claim, and there&#8217;s serious money at stake in the decision.</p>
  161. <p>I thought I had it all figured out, but then I got married, and the spousal benefits impact was more significant than I realized.</p>
  162. <p>Learn from my experience.</p>
  163. <p>Do your homework, then do it again.</p>
  164. <p>Continue to refine your numbers as you get closer to your claim date.&nbsp; Determining when to claim your Social Security is an important decision.&nbsp; Take the time to understand your options before you finalize your plan.</p>
  165. <p>&nbsp;</p>
  166. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:</strong></span></em>&nbsp; What age are you planning on claiming Social Security?&nbsp; What lessons have you learned about spousal benefits, and did they impact your claiming decision?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  167. <hr>
  168. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>PS: Dana in the Wild</strong></span></em></p>
  169. <p>For podcast fans, I was recently on two podcasts that may be of interest:&nbsp;</p>
  170. <ul>
  171. <li><strong>Stacking Benjamins&#8217;s</strong> June session on <a href="https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/create-your-retirement-spending-plan-1698/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carving Out a Robust Retirement Spending Plan</a>. Watch out &#8211; my fellow guests began debating risk management techniques. Interesting discussion, but a tad technical at times.</li>
  172. <li><strong>Inspired Money&#8217;s</strong> June episode on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/retirement-income-strategies-maximizing-returns-for/id1278174903?i=1000711588386" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Retirement Income Strategies: Maximizing Returns for Peace of Mind</a>. I take issue with the title of this episode, but it was a great convo, including incredibly insightful statements from one of my favorites in the industry &#8211; Roger Whitney of Rock Retirement.&nbsp;</li>
  173. </ul>
  174. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date/">How Social Security Spousal Benefits May Change My Claim Date</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  175. ]]></content:encoded>
  177. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  178. <slash:comments>51</slash:comments>
  181. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16362</post-id> </item>
  182. <item>
  183. <title>My Biggest Surprise in Retirement</title>
  184. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-biggest-surprise-in-retirement/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=my-biggest-surprise-in-retirement</link>
  185. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-biggest-surprise-in-retirement/#comments</comments>
  187. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  188. <pubDate>Thu, 12 Jun 2025 08:12:36 +0000</pubDate>
  189. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  190. <category><![CDATA[asset allocation]]></category>
  191. <category><![CDATA[financial independence]]></category>
  192. <category><![CDATA[financial planning]]></category>
  193. <category><![CDATA[Personal finance]]></category>
  194. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  195. <category><![CDATA[retirement savings]]></category>
  196. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16298</guid>
  197.  
  198. <description><![CDATA[<p>Surprise! Fritz here.&#160; I know I said I was retiring from full-time blogging, but we&#8217;ve just started a two-month home expansion project (a 700 sq ft addition), and our house [&#8230;]</p>
  199. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-biggest-surprise-in-retirement/">My Biggest Surprise in Retirement</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  200. ]]></description>
  201. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Surprise! Fritz here.&nbsp;</p>
  202. <p>I know I said I was <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>retiring from full-time blogging</strong></a>, but we&#8217;ve just started a two-month home expansion project (a 700 sq ft addition), and our house is a construction zone.&nbsp; My <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-treehouse-writing-studio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>treehouse writing studio</strong></a> is an oasis from the chaos, so I&#8217;ve had some time to write.&nbsp; Here&#8217;s what our front hallway looks like at the moment <em>(you can see why I&#8217;m <del>hiding</del> writing in my studio):</em></p>
  203. <p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16319" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PXL_20250602_205430605-scaled-e1748983137714.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="533"></p>
  204. <p><em><strong>PS:</strong> You can watch the project&#8217;s progress on my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_retirement_manifesto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Instagram</strong></a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheRetirementManifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Facebook</strong></a> account, if interested. </em></p>
  205. <p>Anyway&#8230;.on to the post.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  206. <hr>
  207. <h1>My Biggest Surprise in Retirement</h1>
  208. <p>If you&#8217;re a long-time reader, you know how much I planned for retirement.</p>
  209. <p>That planning paid off.</p>
  210. <p>My transition into retirement went smoothly <em>(check out my <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-the-first-week-of-retirement-is-really-like/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Reality Series,</strong></a> where I journaled through the transition)</em>, and I&#8217;ve enjoyed the last 7 years more than any period in my life.</p>
  211. <p>And yet, there&#8217;s one <strong>financial</strong> element that caught me by surprise.</p>
  212. <p>Today, I&#8217;m sharing it with you.</p>
  213. <p>I suspect you&#8217;ll be surprised, too&#8230;</p>
  214. <hr /><p><em>I planned well for retirement, but this one financial element caught me by surprise.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fmy-biggest-surprise-in-retirement%2F&#038;text=I%20planned%20well%20for%20retirement%2C%20but%20this%20one%20financial%20element%20caught%20me%20by%20surprise.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  215. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16303" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.19.19-PM.png" alt="" width="419" height="668" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.19.19-PM.png 419w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.19.19-PM-188x300.png 188w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 419px) 100vw, 419px" /></p>
  216. <hr>
  217. <h1>My Biggest Surprise in Retirement</h1>
  218. <p>I&#8217;m fortunate to have saved aggressively in my company&#8217;s 401(k) since I started my career at Age 22.</p>
  219. <p>It&#8217;s what allowed me to retire at Age 55.</p>
  220. <p>And yet, like many folks my age, <strong>those savings were predominantly in &#8220;Before-Tax&#8221; accounts</strong> in my company&#8217;s 401(k) plan.&nbsp; Sure, I got the tax break while working, and I felt like a genius. Besides, we didn&#8217;t have the option of investing in a Roth, so the decision was easy.&nbsp;</p>
  221. <p>I knew those taxes would come due when I &#8220;got old,&#8221; but I&#8217;d worry about that later.</p>
  222. <p><strong>Later has arrived.&nbsp; </strong></p>
  223. <p>As I shared in my <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/our-retirement-investment-drawdown-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Drawdown Strategy</strong></a>, when I retired, we had 56% of our retirement savings in Before-Tax accounts, as shown below:</p>
  224. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4465" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-Allocation.png" alt="" width="607" height="380" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-Allocation.png 607w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-Allocation-300x188.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 607px) 100vw, 607px" /></p>
  225. <hr>
  226. <h2><strong>The Golden Age of Roth Conversions</strong></h2>
  227. <p>Now that I&#8217;m retired, I&#8217;ve been laser-focused on doing annual Roth conversions to reduce that Before-Tax balance. As I wrote in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-golden-age-of-roth-conversions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Golden Age of Roth Conversions</strong></a>, it makes sense to do Roth conversions in your early retirement years <em>(be careful if you&#8217;re getting ACA subsidies, and ugly Aunt IRMAA can be a problem if you&#8217;re 63 or older).</em>&nbsp; I won&#8217;t rehash the arguments for why; you can read about it in the linked article.&nbsp;</p>
  228. <p>My goal is to manage the taxes on my terms, rather than being &#8220;forced&#8221; into whatever the Required Minimum Distributions rule requires in my 70s.&nbsp; I&#8217;d also like to get as much of that money converted into a Roth for the benefit of my wife, in the event I die early (she&#8217;d pay higher taxes as a single tax filer vs. our current &#8220;Married Filing Jointly&#8221; status). For now, I&#8217;m playing the tax bracket &#8220;stuffing&#8221; game (topping off my selected tax bracket with Roth conversions) and trying to be smart about minimizing the taxes I pay throughout my retirement.</p>
  229. <p><strong>The Bad News:</strong> The Roth conversions are not making as much of a difference as I had hoped.</p>
  230. <p>And that, in summary, is my biggest surprise.</p>
  231. <hr>
  232. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>My Biggest Surprise in Retirement:&nbsp; It&#8217;s Hard To Reduce Your Pre-Tax Account Balance!</strong></span></p>
  233. <p>We&#8217;ve all heard about the power of compounding and how valuable it is in personal finance.&nbsp; If you want a refresher, check out my post, <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/15-building-block-ii-the-most-powerful-force-in-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&#8220;The Most Powerful Force in the Universe.&#8221;&nbsp;</strong></a></p>
  234. <p>What I didn&#8217;t think about, and only realized after I retired and started doing Roth conversions, is the fact that compounding makes it difficult to reduce your pre-tax account balance.</p>
  235. <p>Despite doing aggressive Roth conversions, our pre-tax balance isn&#8217;t coming down like I expected!</p>
  236. <p>In fairness, part of that &#8220;problem&#8221; is driven by above-average returns since my retirement in 2018.&nbsp; First world problem, I know.&nbsp; But it&#8217;s still been a big surprise.</p>
  237. <p><strong>Let&#8217;s do a hypothetical example to demonstrate the point.&nbsp; </strong></p>
  238. <p>To make the math easy, let&#8217;s say you have $1M in your pre-tax account, and your first full year of retirement is 2019.&nbsp; If you had that entire $1M in stocks, here&#8217;s what would have happened without doing any Roth conversions (S&amp;P 500 returns from <a href="https://ycharts.com/indicators/sp_500_total_return_annual" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>ycharts</strong></a>, including dividends):</p>
  239. <p>&nbsp;<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16305" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.31.50-PM-1.png" alt="" width="515" height="177" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.31.50-PM-1.png 515w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.31.50-PM-1-300x103.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 515px) 100vw, 515px" /></p>
  240. <p>In this example, a $1M portfolio would have grown to $2.6M in 6 short years.&nbsp; That&#8217;s the power of compounding. Amazing!</p>
  241. <p>Let&#8217;s modify the above example, and say you&#8217;re doing an annual Roth conversion of $50k.&nbsp;</p>
  242. <p><strong>How much impact would Roth conversions make?</strong>&nbsp;Not much&#8230;</p>
  243. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16308" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.41.00-PM.png" alt="" width="616" height="180" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.41.00-PM.png 616w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.41.00-PM-300x88.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" /></p>
  244. <p>Despite doing annual Roth conversions of $50k, the pre-tax value has still doubled, to $2.15 M!</p>
  245. <hr>
  246. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>A More Realistic Scenario &#8211; $500k&nbsp;</strong></span></p>
  247. <p>Ok, I hear you.&nbsp; No one has $1M in their pre-tax account.&nbsp; I got your attention, though, right?</p>
  248. <p>Fair enough, let&#8217;s assume the starting balance is $500k (which compares nicely with the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/401k-balance-60-year-old-11678393" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>average 401(k) balance of $573k</strong></a> for folks in their 60&#8217;s):</p>
  249. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16309" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.44.11-PM.png" alt="" width="616" height="180" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.44.11-PM.png 616w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.44.11-PM-300x88.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" /></p>
  250. <p><strong>The problem remains.</strong></p>
  251. <p>With a $500k starting balance and $50k annual Roth conversions, the account has still grown by $357k (to $857k), or 71%.</p>
  252. <p><strong>Bottom Line:</strong>&nbsp; It&#8217;s difficult to reduce your pre-tax account balance due to the power of compound interest.</p>
  253. <p>In fact, the only way to reduce your pre-tax account is to do annual Roth conversions in excess of the annual return generated by the pre-tax portion of your portfolio.&nbsp; Sticking with the $500k example, <strong>an average annual Roth conversion of $89k would have been required</strong> to maintain the pre-tax balance at $500k, as shown below:</p>
  254. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16312" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.52.03-PM.png" alt="" width="617" height="192" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.52.03-PM.png 617w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.52.03-PM-300x93.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 617px) 100vw, 617px" /></p>
  255. <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(<strong>Note:</strong>&nbsp; you could argue about my $0 Roth conversion in a down year, but it&#8217;s just an example.&nbsp; Quit whining and do your own math &#8211; wink.)</em></span></p>
  256. <hr>
  257. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>What About A 60/40 Portfolio @ $500k?</strong></span></p>
  258. <p>No one has a 100% stock portfolio in their pre-tax accounts, right?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s see what things look like if our retiree had a 60/40 stock/bond allocation in their pre-tax accounts.&nbsp; We&#8217;ll use the S&amp;P 500 for stocks, and Vanguard&#8217;s Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBMFX) for bonds, we can find their annual returns <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/VBMFX/performance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here.</strong></a></p>
  259. <p>Without any Roth conversions, the account would have grown from $500k to $990k, as shown below:</p>
  260. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16328" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-12.38.08-PM.png" alt="" width="741" height="180" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-12.38.08-PM.png 741w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-12.38.08-PM-300x73.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px" /></p>
  261. <p>Add in our $50k/year of Roth conversions, and the ending balance is $609k, an increase of 22%:</p>
  262. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16315" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.59.48-PM.png" alt="" width="844" height="222" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.59.48-PM.png 844w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.59.48-PM-300x79.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.59.48-PM-768x202.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 844px) 100vw, 844px" /></p>
  263. <p><strong>Bottom Line:&nbsp;</strong> Even with a 40% bond allocation, it&#8217;s difficult to reduce your pre-tax balance via Roth conversions.</p>
  264. <p>We&#8217;ve done aggressive Roth conversions every year, yet I continue to be frustrated by how little we&#8217;ve moved the needle.&nbsp; In full transparency, we&#8217;ve reduced it, but only by 15% of its starting value.&nbsp; That&#8217;s far less than I would have expected, given the size of the conversions we&#8217;ve done.&nbsp;</p>
  265. <p>I&#8217;m grateful, as I realize this &#8220;problem&#8221; is a result of a strong market through my first 7 years of retirement, but I still worry about those darned RMD&#8217;s.&nbsp; Perhaps <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-if-stocks-only-rise-3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>a decade of 3% returns</strong></a> will help, but that&#8217;s not the type of help I had in mind.&nbsp; <em>(BTW, that article, written in Jan 2025, seems a bit prophetic now&#8230;)</em></p>
  266. <hr>
  267. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>A Note About Asset Allocation &#8220;Location&#8221;</strong></span></p>
  268. <p>This is a reasonable place to mention which assets should be held in which type of tax-structured account.</p>
  269. <p>One of the more advanced techniques (&#8220;tweaking&#8221;, some would say) for optimizing your portfolio is Asset Location Optimization, which focuses on putting certain assets in certain tax buckets to optimize after-tax returns.&nbsp; For example, since bond income is taxed at your nominal tax rate, it&#8217;s best to hold them in your Before-Tax accounts (which are taxed at your nominal rate when doing a Roth conversion/RMD/withdrawal).&nbsp; Compare that to stocks, which are best in your Roth, where the higher growth is tax-free.</p>
  270. <p>Below is a chart summarizing the concept (I discuss this in more detail <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/our-retirement-investment-drawdown-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here</strong></a>):</p>
  271. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4470" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-location.png" alt="" width="449" height="269" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-location.png 449w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-location-300x180.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 449px) 100vw, 449px" />&nbsp;</p>
  272. <p>When my investments were in a 401(k), the plan rules didn&#8217;t allow me to shift assets between account types, so I held the same asset allocation in both my pre-tax and Roth 401(k).&nbsp; One of the main reasons I said <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/saying-goodbye-to-the-401k/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&#8220;Goodbye to my 401(k)&#8221;</strong> </a>was to give flexibility to move asset classes within different tax-structured accounts per the above chart, which I&#8217;ve been doing since closing the 401(k) in mid-2022.&nbsp;</p>
  273. <p><em><strong>A note on nomenclature:</strong> &#8220;After-Tax&#8221; and &#8220;Taxable&#8221; are the same names for funds held in a taxable account (e.g., brokerage), and &#8220;Before-Tax&#8221; and &#8220;Pre-Tax&#8221; are the same names for funds deducted from your annual income when contributed (e.g., 401k or Traditional IRA).</em></p>
  274. <hr>
  275. <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Our Asset Allocation By Account Type:</strong></span></span></p>
  276. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As the table below demonstrates, while <strong>our overall portfolio is 66% stocks</strong>, our Roth allocation is 96% stocks (you want the highest growth in your tax-free account).&nbsp; Compare that to bonds, where our overall portfolio holds 16%, but our pre-tax bond allocation is 34% (you want bonds in pre-tax, where they&#8217;ll be taxed at your marginal rate).&nbsp; It&#8217;s not a perfect implementation of the table above, but we&#8217;re moving in that direction.</span></p>
  277. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16324" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-11.45.20-AM.png" alt="" width="529" height="143" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-11.45.20-AM.png 529w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-11.45.20-AM-300x81.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 529px) 100vw, 529px" /></p>
  278. <p>I should note that most of the 25% &#8220;Alternative&#8221; allocation in our pre-tax is in a REIT, which is similar to bonds from a tax perspective.&nbsp; I hope the <strong>lower allocation to stocks in our pre-tax account</strong> (44%) will help reduce the power of compounding and allow us to draw down the pre-tax balance more effectively via future Roth conversions.</p>
  279. <p>A note about the taxable allocations:&nbsp; the 25% &#8220;Alternative&#8221; in our taxable account represents our <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-we-just-bought-a-second-home-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>second home in Alabama</strong></a>, which we include in our &#8220;spendable&#8221; assets since we could sell the property, if necessary, to fund retirement needs. Also, our taxable account&#8217;s 16% bond allocation is held primarily in tax-free municipal bonds.</p>
  280. <hr>
  281. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Difficulty of Covering The Tax Burden</strong></span></p>
  282. <p>A note about how to cover the tax burden associated with Roth conversions is in order.</p>
  283. <p>To make the best use of Roth conversions, it&#8217;s best to cover the tax burden with taxable funds (rather than using some of the pre-tax money to cover the taxes).&nbsp; This maximizes the amount of money you&#8217;re moving into the Roth, rather than &#8220;diverting&#8221; some of those funds for taxes.</p>
  284. <p>Sounds great in principle, but the second part of my &#8220;biggest surprise in retirement&#8221; is how much after-tax cash gets consumed paying those taxes on the Roth conversions.&nbsp; I always knew the tax would come due, but I didn&#8217;t realize how painful it would be. I&#8217;m committed to paying taxes with after-tax money to maximize the value of the Roth conversion, but it takes a lot of cash.</p>
  285. <p><strong>As you&#8217;re planning for your retirement, do not overlook the tax burden.</strong></p>
  286. <p>Every quarter, I wince as I send Uncle Sam my Estimated Quarterly Tax payment.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve enjoyed the benefits of tax deferral for 4 decades, but we can&#8217;t avoid the taxman forever.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve sized Bucket 1 in my <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-retirement-paycheck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Bucket Strategy</strong></a> accordingly, and we&#8217;re doing fine.&nbsp; But the impact of those taxes is easy to miss in your pre-retirement planning.</p>
  287. <p>I take some solace in the fact that we&#8217;re (hopefully) being smart in managing our Roth conversions, and the result should be a lower tax burden throughout our retirement.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  288. <p>Pay them now, or pay them later.</p>
  289. <p>The one fact is&#8230;you will pay those taxes.</p>
  290. <p><strong>No surprise there.</strong></p>
  291. <hr>
  292. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  293. <p>There you have it.&nbsp; My biggest surprise in retirement is how difficult it&#8217;s been to reduce our pre-tax account balance despite aggressive annual Roth conversions.&nbsp; I realize that&#8217;s primarily due to the power of compounding in a strong market, but it&#8217;s still been a surprise. Also, I knew the increased tax burden would consume a lot of cash, <strong>but &#8220;knowing it&#8221; and &#8220;living it&#8221; are two different things.</strong></p>
  294. <p>Dealing with drawing down your pre-tax accounts is a surprise you should be prepared for as you plan for retirement.&nbsp;</p>
  295. <p>It&#8217;s not as easy as you think.</p>
  296. <p><strong>Don&#8217;t be surprised.</strong></p>
  297. <hr>
  298. <p>That&#8217;s it for now&#8230;time to head back inside and face the home expansion chaos.</p>
  299. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></span></em> If you haven&#8217;t yet retired, have you included tax impacts in your spending forecasts?&nbsp; If you&#8217;ve already retired, are you facing the same surprise that I am?&nbsp; Finally, would you be interested in an article about our home expansion project? Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  300. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-biggest-surprise-in-retirement/">My Biggest Surprise in Retirement</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  301. ]]></content:encoded>
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  304. <slash:comments>116</slash:comments>
  307. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16298</post-id> </item>
  308. <item>
  309. <title>Retirement &#8211; My Journey From &#8220;No, Never&#8221; to &#8220;Maybe One Day&#8221;</title>
  310. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day</link>
  311. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day/#comments</comments>
  313. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Dana Anspach]]></dc:creator>
  314. <pubDate>Thu, 05 Jun 2025 09:14:05 +0000</pubDate>
  315. <category><![CDATA[Retirement State of Mind]]></category>
  316. <category><![CDATA[Semi-Retirement]]></category>
  317. <category><![CDATA[financial planning]]></category>
  318. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  319. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16278</guid>
  320.  
  321. <description><![CDATA[<p>When Fritz and I agreed to this experiment, we had no idea what to expect. Who knew my sparkle bomb of an idea (sharing my own thoughts on retirement on [&#8230;]</p>
  322. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day/">Retirement &#8211; My Journey From &#8220;No, Never&#8221; to &#8220;Maybe One Day&#8221;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  323. ]]></description>
  324. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When Fritz and I agreed to this experiment, we had no idea what to expect. Who knew my sparkle bomb of an idea (sharing my own thoughts on retirement on this blog) would, well, set off so many sparkles! Thank you for the warm welcome in the comments. I look forward to continuing the journey with all of you.</p>
  325. <p>As I said in<strong> <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/">our initial post</a></strong>, I want to share how my personal thoughts on retirement shifted from “Nope, Never” to “Maybe One Day.” It may sound subtle, but to me, it was <strong>seismic.</strong></p>
  326. <hr /><p><em>I never thought I&#039;d retire. Then...I took a vacation and had an awakening.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fretirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day%2F&#038;text=I%20never%20thought%20I%27d%20retire.%20Then...I%20took%20a%20vacation%20and%20had%20an%20awakening.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  327. <p><strong>Here&#8217;s how it happened&#8230;</strong></p>
  328. <hr>
  329. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16290" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-02-2.32.53-PM.png" alt="" width="442" height="669" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-02-2.32.53-PM.png 442w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-02-2.32.53-PM-198x300.png 198w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 442px) 100vw, 442px" /></p>
  330. <hr>
  331. <h2><strong>A Personal Awakening</strong></h2>
  332. <p>I love&#8230;</p>
  333. <ul>
  334. <li>&#8230;accomplishing things.</li>
  335. <li>&#8230;growing my company.</li>
  336. <li>&#8230;contributing to my profession.</li>
  337. <li>&#8230;mentoring those new to the financial planning career.</li>
  338. </ul>
  339. <p>Give me three days off, and I&#8217;m itching to return to work.</p>
  340. <p>That’s why this vacation was different. It was day 13, and I hadn’t been bored yet. We were in Beaver Creek, CO, where we got married. It’s my favorite mountain town.</p>
  341. <p>Until this vacation, when people asked about my retirement plans, I’d casually say I planned to work until 70. But it wasn’t a carefully thought-out plan. It was simply the only path I could see.</p>
  342. <p>Then, at 53, on that vacation, <strong>I experienced what a joyful retirement might feel like</strong>: a life centered around nature, health, and writing. Writing fills me with joy — when I can do it at a reasonable pace, not squeezed between emails, financial statements, and Zoom meetings.</p>
  343. <p>Suddenly, retirement wasn’t a vague checkbox I advised others to prepare for—it was something I could see for myself one day. Not a fully formed picture.… but like being in a room with the light off and then a dimmer switch turns on, casting just enough glow to glimpse a path forward.</p>
  344. <ul>
  345. <li><strong>Pre-awakening:</strong>&nbsp; The logic was clear: I was supposed to save and plan for retirement. And, since I help others do that, I didn’t want to be a hypocrite.</li>
  346. <li><strong>Post-awakening:</strong> I was no longer planning for retirement out of obligation — I can see it one day. My future no longer felt like a murky unknown—it felt like something I could shape.</li>
  347. </ul>
  348. <p>Here&#8217;s our Sept 2023 wedding photo from the top of the ski lift in Beaver Creek.</p>
  349. <figure id="attachment_16279" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16279" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-scaled.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-16279" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-300x200.jpg" alt="Beaver Creek, CO Wedding Photo" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16279" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Dana&#8217;s favorite place in the mountains.</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  350. <hr>
  351. <h2><strong>What Shape Will I Shape?</strong></h2>
  352. <p>As I spent time thinking about the retirement I wanted to design, and how I would achieve it, a few things became clear:</p>
  353. <p><strong>1) I Can’t Go from 100 to Zero</strong></p>
  354. <p>Work full time – then stop all at once? No,&nbsp;such an abrupt transition doesn’t suit me. I must begin weaving in more time off now. That means planning more vacations, remote work weeks from Colorado, and learning to take weekends and holidays off like a normal person – weaning myself from the “always on” mindset of an entrepreneur. This is easier said than done.</p>
  355. <p><strong>2) I Work for Fun—So I Need More Fun</strong></p>
  356. <p>When I don’t have anything else exciting planned, I work. Because for me, my work <em>is</em> fun. So, the only way to scale back is to deliberately add other joyful experiences to my calendar. The first step? My husband and I booked a bucket-list hike along the Mont Blanc circuit in the Alps, spanning France, Italy, and Switzerland. We’ll hike about 99 miles over twelve days this summer.</p>
  357. <p><strong>3) I&#8217;m Not Building to Sell—I&#8217;m Here for the Journey</strong></p>
  358. <p>I needed more clarity around what I want from my eventual succession plan. Some business owners build to sell for maximum enterprise value. That’s never been my path. I’m building future generations of financial planners who will become owners of the firm. Two already have. This gives me something more valuable: maximum <em>life satisfaction</em> value. How do I continue to use this metric as my compass?</p>
  359. <p><strong>4) I Want a Long, Gradual Transition</strong></p>
  360. <p>I need to communicate to my team that I’m looking for shared responsibility. My goal is to scale down gradually over the next sixteen years. Yes—sixteen. It’s a long ramp, but it feels right for me. Each year, I must identify key tasks, determine who can take them over, train them as needed, and then I must let go of that item.&nbsp;</p>
  361. <p>That clarity I found gave me energy.</p>
  362. <p>Energy is a good sign that you&#8217;re headed in the right direction.</p>
  363. <hr>
  364. <h2><strong>My Pre-Go Phase Begins&nbsp; (And Go-Go Starts Now, Too)</strong></h2>
  365. <p>With my newfound clarity, I began working on a new book, which I hope to release this fall.</p>
  366. <p>It’s called<strong> <em>Living Off Your Acorns: Your Guide to the Four Phases of Retirement</em>.</strong> It covers the mindset and financial shifts that happen in each phase: Pre-Go, Go-Go, Slow-Go, and No-Go.</p>
  367. <p>When does each phase begin? It’s different for each of us.</p>
  368. <p>My Pre-Go phase began on that vacation, when the light went on. While this phase typically spans the five to ten years before retirement, I realized I would need to overlay mine with the Go-Go phase—which for those with a more abrupt path to retirement, typically occurs during the first five to ten years <em>of</em> retired life.</p>
  369. <p>If I don’t overlap mine with my current working years, I’ll reach 70 without having done many of the things I dream about. And at 70, my window to do them will be shorter. So I’m layering in my Go-Go experiences now. This is my path. And I’m intentionally making it happen.</p>
  370. <hr>
  371. <h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-248" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Money.jpg" alt="" width="717" height="406" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Money.jpg 717w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Money-300x170.jpg 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Money-624x353.jpg 624w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px" /></h2>
  372. <h2><strong>The Financial Side</strong></h2>
  373. <p>My financial plan was already in motion. I update it each year. But now, with a more clearly defined path, I approached several things differently in my 2025 update.</p>
  374. <p><strong>First, I stress-tested an earlier retirement.</strong><br />
  375. What if health issues force me out of work early? What if my feelings about work shift in my early 60s? I stress-tested a retirement as early as 65. I don’t think that’s my path—but according to the Transamerica Retirement Survey, <strong><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/9-retirement-surprises/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">56% of retirees retired</a><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/9-retirement-surprises/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <em>earlier</em> than planned. </a></strong>I’d be foolish to assume it couldn’t happen to me.</p>
  376. <p><strong>Next, I ran our custom Social Security plan.</strong><br />
  377. When estimating future benefits, if retirement is far in the future, I use generalized assumptions in financial plans—often based on the Full Retirement Age benefit amount as estimated on someone&#8217;s statement. But as someone approaches retirement, we refine those projections. Typically, refinement begins around age 55. This year, I am 54 and my husband is 57. It was time.</p>
  378. <p>Using specialized software, I input our historical and future estimated earnings through our projected last year of work. The program then calculates an actuarially recommended claiming strategy based on inflation, interest rates, and life expectancy.</p>
  379. <p>This is where I got the surprise of a lifetime. I’ve run hundreds of Social Security analyses – I was pretty sure I knew what our recommended plan would be. I would have been wrong. And that?</p>
  380. <p><strong>That’s a story for my next post.</strong></p>
  381. <p>Until then… I’d love to hear from you in the comments.</p>
  382. <ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
  383. <li>Where have you found clarity?</li>
  384. <li>What activities give you energy?</li>
  385. <li>Where is retirement still murky for you?</li>
  386. <li>And if you’ve had your own “light went on” moment—what was it like?</li>
  387. </ul>
  388. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day/">Retirement &#8211; My Journey From &#8220;No, Never&#8221; to &#8220;Maybe One Day&#8221;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  389. ]]></content:encoded>
  391. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  392. <slash:comments>42</slash:comments>
  395. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16278</post-id> </item>
  396. <item>
  397. <title>A New Chapter for The Retirement Manifesto</title>
  398. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto</link>
  399. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/#comments</comments>
  401. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Dana Anspach]]></dc:creator>
  402. <pubDate>Thu, 22 May 2025 08:55:16 +0000</pubDate>
  403. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  404. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  405. <category><![CDATA[Just Do It]]></category>
  406. <category><![CDATA[Purpose]]></category>
  407. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16228</guid>
  408.  
  409. <description><![CDATA[<p>A month ago, I wrote about my retirement from full-time blogging&#160;and made the following statement: &#8220;I don’t know exactly what that means yet, but I’m going to explore it for [&#8230;]</p>
  410. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/">A New Chapter for The Retirement Manifesto</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  411. ]]></description>
  412. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A month ago, I wrote about <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>my retirement from full-time blogging</strong></a>&nbsp;and made the following statement:</p>
  413. <p><strong><em>&#8220;I don’t know exactly what that means yet, but I’m going to explore it for a while to see where it leads.&#8221;</em></strong></p>
  414. <p>On the morning I published that post, I celebrated my &#8220;Retirement 2.0&#8221; by mountain biking on the <a href="https://sabacycling.com/bicycling/piney-knob-murphy?pineyknob" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Piney Knob trails</strong></a> of Western North Carolina. As I rode, I thought about this blog and its direction. I didn&#8217;t want to write as frequently, but I didn&#8217;t want the blog to fade into obscurity.&nbsp; I wasn&#8217;t sure how to balance those conflicting goals, but I determined to keep myself open to new opportunities and see where things led.</p>
  415. <p>Little did I know that as I was riding, a friend was thinking about the same thing, and those thoughts would lead to an exciting new direction for this blog.&nbsp;</p>
  416. <p>Before I go there, I&#8217;ll share a pic from the trail to help you join vicariously in the moment:</p>
  417. <figure id="attachment_16241" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16241" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16241" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/PXL_20250424_140800089-scaled-e1747754486804.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="533"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16241" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Celebrating &#8220;Retirement 2.0&#8221; on my MTB as I ponder the future.</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  418. <p>As I came off the trail, I received a text from a friend that changed everything, and I couldn&#8217;t be more excited about where it&#8217;s led.&nbsp; That text led to an email exchange, and an exciting new path was established for this blog.</p>
  419. <p><strong>In short, we&#8217;re going to conduct an experiment.&nbsp;</strong> If you&#8217;re a regular reader, you know how often I encourage folks to experiment and try new things in retirement. Seems appropriate, then, that we&#8217;d do the same thing with the blog.&nbsp; The exciting part is that you get to participate, and your feedback is always welcome <em>(I&#8217;ll see you in the comments).</em></p>
  420. <hr /><p><em>Today, I&#039;m sharing the plans for the next chapter of The Retirement Manifesto - we&#039;re doing an experiment.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fa-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto%2F&#038;text=Today%2C%20I%27m%20sharing%20the%20plans%20for%20the%20next%20chapter%20of%20The%20Retirement%20Manifesto%20-%20we%27re%20doing%20an%20experiment.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  421. <p><strong>I suspect many of you know the friend who sent the text.</strong>&nbsp; She&#8217;s a true &#8220;Rock Star&#8221; in the world of retirement planning, and her book was one of the best books I read as I was planning my retirement.&nbsp; She has been writing as an expert on retirement-related topics since 2008 and has created tremendous content in the field. I was a huge fan of hers long before she knew who I was, and I&#8217;m honored to consider her a friend now.</p>
  422. <p>I&#8217;m even more excited to have her as a partner<em> (hold that thought, I&#8217;ll explain more in a minute).</em></p>
  423. <p>Her name?&nbsp;</p>
  424. <p>The infamous <a href="https://www.sensiblemoney.com/partners/independent-financial-planners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Dana Anspach</strong></a>, a Certified Financial Planner, Founder of Sensible Money, and author of <a href="https://amzn.to/4mH82fZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Control Your Retirement Destiny </strong></a><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(Amazon Affiliate link)</em></span>, one of the best books I&#8217;ve read on retirement planning. I first discovered her when she was writing the &#8220;MoneyOver55&#8221; column on About.com, and have followed her writing since 2010.&nbsp; She&#8217;s long been one of my favorite writers in the field, and in the second half of this post, you&#8217;ll get an opportunity to read her writing yourself.&nbsp;</p>
  425. <p><strong>Hint:</strong>&nbsp; It won&#8217;t be the last time you&#8217;ll read her content on The Retirement Manifesto.</p>
  426. <figure id="attachment_16244" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16244" style="width: 282px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16244" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-11.40.56-AM.png" alt="" width="282" height="280" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-11.40.56-AM.png 282w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-11.40.56-AM-150x150.png 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 282px) 100vw, 282px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16244" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Dana Anspach &#8211; Rock Star</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  427. <p>Ironically, after years of helping thousands of people retire successfully, <strong>she&#8217;s now at the same point I was when I started this blog.&nbsp;</strong> She&#8217;s still working, but she&#8217;s thinking seriously about when she can retire.&nbsp; She&#8217;s a talented writer, and in her text, she floated the concept of having her share her journey and thoughts via posts on this blog.&nbsp;</p>
  428. <p>I immediately agreed.</p>
  429. <p>What is it like for a retirement professional to personally go through the retirement transition?&nbsp; After years of helping others, how is it different when you go through it yourself? Thanks to this partnership, we&#8217;ll all gain some insight.&nbsp; I&#8217;m excited for the journey.</p>
  430. <p>We&#8217;re keeping the new &#8220;partnership&#8221; informal, with no money changing hands and no commitments.&nbsp; Either of us can cancel the agreement at any time, though I suspect that won&#8217;t happen.&nbsp; We&#8217;ll play it by ear and see how it goes.&nbsp; If things work well, we&#8217;ll consider a more formal agreement in a year or so.&nbsp; Stay tuned.</p>
  431. <p><strong>The Bottom Line:</strong> We all stand to benefit:</p>
  432. <ul>
  433. <li>Dana gets a platform to share her thoughts as she prepares for retirement.</li>
  434. <li>Fritz gets a talented writer to create new content and keep the blog interesting.</li>
  435. <li>You get insight as a retirement professional plans her transition into retirement.</li>
  436. </ul>
  437. <hr>
  438. <h2>The Retirement Manifesto 2.0</h2>
  439. <p>At this point, here&#8217;s how we envision things happening.&nbsp;</p>
  440. <p>Both Dana and I will contribute to this blog, and we&#8217;ll have complete freedom to write whatever is on our minds. I suspect having Dana onboard will give me more energy than if I were to continue solo, and I already have a few draft articles saved on topics I&#8217;d like to address.&nbsp; I realize it will take a while for you to get used to a new &#8220;voice&#8221; on the blog, and I ask for your patience as we conduct this experiment.&nbsp; Dana is an excellent writer and has more experience in this field than almost anyone I know.&nbsp; Participating in her retirement transition will provide value for all of us.</p>
  441. <p>In short, The Retirement Manifesto is moving from a solo act to a duet.</p>
  442. <p><strong>I hope you like the new music.</strong></p>
  443. <p><em>PS &#8211; To make it easier for you, we&#8217;ll add the writer&#8217;s name as a byline below the title of each post.&nbsp; If you were paying attention, you&#8217;d have caught Dana&#8217;s name below the title of today&#8217;s post.&nbsp; I wonder how many readers noticed that?</em></p>
  444. <hr>
  445. <p>This isn&#8217;t the first time Dana and I have collaborated.&nbsp; A year ago, I was a guest on a webinar she hosted discussing &#8220;The 5 Keys to Retirement Success&#8221; (YouTube link below).&nbsp; I met Dana in Phoenix a month before we recorded, and we hit it off immediately.&nbsp; I&#8217;m proud of the content we created, and I am excited about what the future holds.</p>
  446. <p>&nbsp;<br />
  447. <iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BuRE7xwuaak?si=1qLcER_XLotdLyzv" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />
  448. &nbsp;</p>
  449. <hr>
  450. <p>With that introduction out of the way&#8230;</p>
  451. <p>&nbsp;<br />
  452. <iframe loading="lazy" class="giphy-embed" src="https://giphy.com/embed/RoajqIorBfSE" width="480" height="250" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
  453. <p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/scenes-inyminy-RoajqIorBfSE">via GIPHY</a></p>
  454. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Discovering The Retirement Manifesto</strong></span></p>
  455. <p>I’m not sure when I first came across Fritz’s blog—probably 2016, a year or so after he began writing.</p>
  456. <p>At the time, I wrote as the MoneyOver55 Expert for About.com, something I’d done since 2007, when the site was owned by The New York Times. All of us &#8220;experts&#8221; maintained a blog, where we were encouraged to share our personal voice along with stories and anecdotes, and we wrote “evergreen” content &#8211; for me, that meant covering core topics like Social Security, 401(k) withdrawals, and all things retirement.</p>
  457. <p>I loved it. Writing was one of the most rewarding parts of my week. Constantly on the lookout for fresh topics and inspiring voices in the retirement space, I found <em>The Retirement Manifesto</em> and featured the blog in a “top retirement blogs” piece.</p>
  458. <p>What drew me in? Fritz was out there being real—sharing his journey with transparency and vulnerability, and allowing us all to come along for the ride.</p>
  459. <hr>
  460. <h2>A Different Kind of Retirement Conversation</h2>
  461. <p>While I was steeped in the mechanics of retirement income planning—tax efficiency, income distribution strategies, and cash flow modeling—Fritz was writing about the emotional side of the transition. About finding identity and purpose. His<strong> <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-ten-commandments-of-retirement/">Ten Commandments of Retirement</a></strong> post struck a chord. It showcased the depth of thought he and his wife applied to their retirement and who they wanted to become.</p>
  462. <p>That idea resonated with me. I lived by my own version of a manifesto—I called it my <em>Operating System</em>. It included things like:</p>
  463. <ul>
  464. <li>Be the best me I can be.</li>
  465. <li>Spread a little sunshine wherever you go.</li>
  466. <li>I believe I’m 100% responsible for my life—my life is a reflection of the choices I make.</li>
  467. </ul>
  468. <p>The thought of applying this same kind of intentionality to designing retirement life felt like a mini sparkle bomb going off in my head. “Of course,” I thought. “That is the way!”</p>
  469. <p>And yet, while I referred many people to Fritz’s work, when it came to <em>my own</em> retirement – it felt far, far away. When I tried thinking about it… I felt blank. I help others plan for retirement. But for me? Nope, I couldn’t picture it.</p>
  470. <hr>
  471. <h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16254" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/board-2084772_1280-e1747842036234.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="500"></h2>
  472. <h2>The Shift: From “Nope, Never” to “Maybe One Day”</h2>
  473. <p>Until, at the age of 53, one vacation changed everything, I’ll share that story in a future post.</p>
  474. <p>After that trip, I began thinking about retirement more. By “more” I mean I went from “Retirement for me–nope, never” to “Holy cow, I actually want to retire one day!” This was a fundamental shift.</p>
  475. <p>I wondered: Could I blog about <em>my</em> journey, just like Fritz had?</p>
  476. <p>But, I no longer had a personal blog. You see in 2012, the New York Times sold About.com to IAC—a digital media conglomerate that owns everything from Match.com to Investopedia. Like many corporate transitions, the tone shifted. Our blogs were taken away. The platform became more transactional. I kept writing for a few years, then stepped away as it lost its luster and personal feeling.</p>
  477. <p>Over the years, Fritz and I exchanged a few notes on Twitter (now X). We emailed occasionally and met in person during his 2024 visit to Scottsdale.</p>
  478. <p>His genuine nature shines through in person just as it does within his writing.</p>
  479. <p>So, when I saw his post about retiring from blogging, another sparkle bomb went off. Could I pick up where he left off?</p>
  480. <p>I tapped out a text, and after a short exchange, we decided to do something we each value: experiment. No financial ties. No obligations. Just an experiment.</p>
  481. <p>I’d share my thoughts and stories about retirement. When inspired, he might share his. In a year, we’ll check in and see what we think.</p>
  482. <p>I’m excited to blog again—it feels like Fourth of July sparklers inside.</p>
  483. <hr>
  484. <h2>What My Plan <em data-start="1256" data-end="1260">Is</em>—And Isn’t</h2>
  485. <p>My only hesitation: how might this be received? I’m the founder and CEO of a firm specializing in retirement planning. While we welcome new clients, this is not a sales pitch, and I don’t want anyone feeling that way.</p>
  486. <p>Yet, I’m sure I’ll talk about my work—it’s a huge part of my life, and I’m proud of it. But my belief is this: we’re all wired differently.</p>
  487. <p>Some of us are well-suited to handle our own planning.</p>
  488. <p>Others benefit immensely from delegating.</p>
  489. <p>Either way, good advice is good advice. We can all learn from one another—with respect, kindness, and encouragement.</p>
  490. <p>I plan to share my hopes, stories, and reflections about my retirement journey—and snippets from the hundreds of households I’ve learned from.</p>
  491. <h2>Let’s See Where This Leads</h2>
  492. <p>Let’s see where this experiment leads. I hope you’ll join me on the journey.</p>
  493. <p>And, stay tuned. Shortly, I’ll share my own personal awakening about retirement and how it shifted my entire way of thinking.</p>
  494. <hr>
  495. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  496. <p>Fritz here, jumping in with some final thoughts.&nbsp; Throughout my blogging career, I&#8217;ve been fascinated by the exciting opportunities that spring up just by being &#8220;out there.&#8221; The countless podcast interviews, webinars, and new friends I&#8217;ve made. By taking that first step in April 2015, I&#8217;ve created something that&#8217;s brought true purpose and meaning to my retirement.&nbsp;</p>
  497. <p>By being willing to experiment and try new things, I&#8217;ve discovered the rewarding feeling that comes from &#8220;Helping People Achieve A Great Retirement&#8221; (my byline). As a result, I&#8217;ve learned to embrace change, to be willing to experiment, and to take risks.&nbsp; I hope that you&#8217;ve all benefited as a result.</p>
  498. <p>After years of being a solo act, I&#8217;m embracing the opportunity of singing in a duet.</p>
  499. <p>I hope you enjoy the experiment.</p>
  500. <hr>
  501. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></span> I&#8217;d love your input as we launch this new chapter in the life of The Retirement Manifesto. Have you read Dana&#8217;s material in the past, or is this your first introduction?&nbsp; What do you think of the approach? I appreciate your support as we conduct this experiment, and encourage you to learn to hear a new voice on this blog.&nbsp; I think you&#8217;ll enjoy the music&#8230;</p>
  502. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/">A New Chapter for The Retirement Manifesto</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  503. ]]></content:encoded>
  505. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  506. <slash:comments>116</slash:comments>
  509. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16228</post-id> </item>
  510. <item>
  511. <title>I&#8217;m Retiring    (from full-time blogging)</title>
  512. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging</link>
  513. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/#comments</comments>
  515. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  516. <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 08:58:07 +0000</pubDate>
  517. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  518. <category><![CDATA[carpe diem]]></category>
  519. <category><![CDATA[contentment]]></category>
  520. <category><![CDATA[Just Do It]]></category>
  521. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16132</guid>
  522.  
  523. <description><![CDATA[<p>On April 12, 2015, I wrote my first post on this blog. A decade of writing.&#160; 441 articles.&#160; 1 Million Words. Wow. It&#8217;s been a heckuva ride. I&#8217;m in awe [&#8230;]</p>
  524. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/">I&#8217;m Retiring    (from full-time blogging)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  525. ]]></description>
  526. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On April 12, 2015, I wrote <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/hello-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>my first post</strong></a> on this blog.</p>
  527. <ul>
  528. <li>A decade of writing.&nbsp;</li>
  529. <li>441 articles.&nbsp;</li>
  530. <li>1 Million Words.</li>
  531. </ul>
  532. <p>Wow.</p>
  533. <p>It&#8217;s been a heckuva ride. I&#8217;m in awe that over 16,000 of you subscribe to my blog and read what I write <em>(a sincere &#8220;Thank You!&#8221; to all of you).</em>&nbsp; It&#8217;s an honor, and I take it seriously.&nbsp; In that very first post, I wrote the following:</p>
  534. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>&#8220;This is the story of my journey, told in The Present before it becomes The Past.&#8221;</strong></em></span></p>
  535. <p>I&#8217;ve always liked that sentence, and it&#8217;s become one of my goals with this blog.&nbsp; To share my journey, as I&#8217;m living it, with the hope that sharing my experiences will help others achieve a great retirement.</p>
  536. <p>At this point in my journey, I feel I&#8217;ve accomplished that goal.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  537. <p>As I seek to continually experiment with my retirement lifestyle, I challenge myself to embrace the freedom these years offer. Sometimes it&#8217;s hard, and today is one of those days.&nbsp; As that journey has evolved, it&#8217;s reached the point where it&#8217;s led to a major decision for this blog.&nbsp;</p>
  538. <p>That decision?</p>
  539. <p><strong>I&#8217;m retiring from full-time blogging.</strong></p>
  540. <p>But&#8230;I&#8217;m getting ahead of myself.&nbsp; To gain insight into my decision and what it means for this blog, read on&#8230;</p>
  541. <hr /><p><em>I&#039;m retiring from full-time blogging. Today, the story behind my decision, and my plans for the future...</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fim-retiring-from-full-time-blogging%2F&#038;text=I%27m%20retiring%20from%20full-time%20blogging.%20Today%2C%20the%20story%20behind%20my%20decision%2C%20and%20my%20plans%20for%20the%20future...&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  542. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16199" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-05-9.28.49-AM.png" alt="" width="397" height="593" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-05-9.28.49-AM.png 397w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-05-9.28.49-AM-201x300.png 201w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 397px) 100vw, 397px" /></p>
  543. <h1><b>Shifting Gears After 10 Years of Blogging</b></h1>
  544. <p>I&#8217;ve known a lot of bloggers over the past decade, most of whom have faded away. That&#8217;s not a surprise, given that 80% of blogs fail to survive beyond 18 months.</p>
  545. <p>One thing I&#8217;ve noticed is how most bloggers seem to just fade away.</p>
  546. <p>They just&#8230;disappear.</p>
  547. <p>One day, you&#8217;re reading their stuff, and a few months later, you realize you haven&#8217;t seen anything from them in a while.&nbsp; A year later, they&#8217;re all but forgotten.</p>
  548. <p><strong>I&#8217;m taking a different approach.</strong></p>
  549. <p>As always, I&#8217;m being transparent about this phase of my journey, and I&#8217;d rather tell you what I&#8217;m thinking than have you wonder where I&#8217;ve gone. This is my Present, before it becomes my Past.</p>
  550. <p>After 10 years of diligent writing, it&#8217;s time to shift gears.&nbsp; I still enjoy writing, but it&#8217;s becoming more of an obligation than the true joy it&#8217;s been in the past.&nbsp; With over 440 articles<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/archives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> in my archives</strong></a>, it&#8217;s harder to find fresh topics to challenge my mind.&nbsp; I think less and less about potential topics, a sharp contrast to the earlier years of writing when ideas were constantly flooding my mind.</p>
  551. <p><strong>It&#8217;s time to move on.</strong></p>
  552. <p>I&#8217;ve always encouraged you to remember that <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-is-like-a-game-of-poker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Is Like A Game of Poker</strong></a>, and challenged you to constantly improve the cards you&#8217;re holding.&nbsp; If a card is getting stale, don&#8217;t hesitate to exchange it for a new card from the deck.&nbsp;</p>
  553. <p>I&#8217;d be a hypocrite if I didn&#8217;t apply the same advice. The blogging card has gotten a bit stale, so I&#8217;m shuffling the deck and putting the card down for a while.</p>
  554. <p>I hope you&#8217;re doing the same.</p>
  555. <p>Never stop experimenting.</p>
  556. <p><strong>Never stop improving your hand.</strong></p>
  557. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15609" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-TRM-Logo-1.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="409" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-TRM-Logo-1.jpg 1024w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-TRM-Logo-1-300x120.jpg 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-TRM-Logo-1-768x307.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></p>
  558. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Future of The Retirement Manifesto</strong></span></p>
  559. <p>The good news is, this blog isn&#8217;t going anywhere.&nbsp; I have no intention of selling it, and I plan on keeping it online well into the future.&nbsp; I&#8217;ll still write when the urge strikes.</p>
  560. <p>The thing that will change is the frequency of my writing.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  561. <p>After all, I&#8217;m retiring from full-time blogging.&nbsp; <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/1f609.png" alt="😉" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
  562. <p><strong>I don&#8217;t know exactly what that means yet</strong>, but I&#8217;m going to explore it for a while to see where it leads. I&#8217;ve been writing about retirement for a long time, perhaps I&#8217;ll use this platform to share thoughts on other topics in the future.&nbsp; Most likely, I&#8217;ll follow the path that <a href="https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Mr. Money Mustache</strong></a> and<a href="https://jlcollinsnh.com/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> JL Collins</strong></a> have taken, and write when I feel I have something worthwhile to say.&nbsp; They both only write a few times a year, but I still read every word.&nbsp; I hope my readers will do the same for me.</p>
  563. <p>Stay tuned (and please don&#8217;t unsubscribe)&#8230;</p>
  564. <p>I&#8217;m getting busier with other activities that I enjoy, and the blogging card has become more intrusive. I seldom find time to sit at my keyboard, and I&#8217;m fine with that.&nbsp; I prefer to be out&#8230;..</p>
  565. <ul>
  566. <li>Hiking <em>(I did a 13-miler last week!)</em>&#8230;</li>
  567. <li>Riding my mountain bike in the woods.&nbsp;</li>
  568. <li>Swimming in a lake.</li>
  569. <li>Playing in our garden (<em>that <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-experiment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>experiment</strong></a> succeeded, we&#8217;ve doubled the size this year</em>)&nbsp;</li>
  570. <li>Hanging out at a campground.</li>
  571. <li>Building a fence <em>(we just finished our 170th <a href="https://www.facebook.com/freedomforfido" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Freedom For Fido</strong></a> fence!).&nbsp;</em></li>
  572. <li>Exercising <em>(you can follow me on <a href="https://www.strava.com/athletes/21680610" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Strava</strong></a>).</em></li>
  573. <li>Spending time with our daughter and granddaughter.</li>
  574. </ul>
  575. <p>If you follow my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_retirement_manifesto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Instagram</strong></a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheRetirementManifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Facebook</strong></a> pages, you&#8217;ll see that I&#8217;m living more and more of my life outside the walls, and retiring from blogging is consistent with that trend.</p>
  576. <hr>
  577. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Why Now?</strong></span></p>
  578. <p>The 10th anniversary of my blog seems like a good time to announce my official retirement.</p>
  579. <p>In my &#8220;real&#8221; job, I retired on July 5th, the same date (33 years later) that I was hired.</p>
  580. <p>I wanted to do the same with my blog, and had planned to publish this post on April 12th, 10 years from the date I wrote my first post.&nbsp; Life got in the way, and I missed the April 12th target by a few weeks.</p>
  581. <p><strong>And that is exactly the point.</strong></p>
  582. <p>Other things in life have taken on a higher priority than my writing, and I&#8217;m embracing that.&nbsp; Don&#8217;t worry, nothing is &#8220;wrong,&#8221; and there is no hidden agenda behind my decision.&nbsp; It just feels like the right time to mix things up a bit.&nbsp; After 7 years of retirement, it&#8217;s no longer a puzzle to me.&nbsp; I&#8217;m content with where I am in life, and find fewer elements of retirement worth thinking about, worth writing about.&nbsp; The retirement transition is complete, and taking a break from writing about the topic aligns with that reality.</p>
  583. <p>I&#8217;ll still write when I feel like it, but I won&#8217;t be publishing regularly.&nbsp; I expect months may go by between articles, and I wouldn&#8217;t want to make that drastic a change without letting you know.&nbsp;</p>
  584. <p>As my life continues to evolve, the time may come when I prefer to be back inside on the keyboard.&nbsp; Or, it may not.&nbsp;</p>
  585. <p><strong>Time will tell.</strong></p>
  586. <p>Regardless of what the future holds, one thing I know is this:&nbsp; The encouragement I&#8217;ve received from all of you over the past 10 years is one of the most rewarding things I&#8217;ve experienced in my life.&nbsp; Your engagement in the comments, the emails, and the personal visits means more to me than you&#8217;ll ever know.&nbsp; There is nothing as satisfying as hearing from someone who has decided to retire, and thanks me for helping them navigate these interesting waters called retirement.</p>
  587. <p>As my path leads in new directions, a special word of thanks to each of you.</p>
  588. <p>I hope my words have encouraged you to achieve a great retirement.&nbsp; As I log off to begin my new retirement, I&#8217;ll leave you with one final word to ponder:&nbsp;</p>
  589. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><em><strong>Freedom.</strong></em></span></p>
  590. <p>I&#8217;m embracing mine.</p>
  591. <p>I encourage you to do the same.</p>
  592. <p>Until next time&#8230;</p>
  593. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/">I&#8217;m Retiring    (from full-time blogging)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  594. ]]></content:encoded>
  596. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  597. <slash:comments>118</slash:comments>
  600. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16132</post-id> </item>
  601. <item>
  602. <title>How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan For You</title>
  603. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=how-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan</link>
  604. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan/#comments</comments>
  606. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  607. <pubDate>Thu, 06 Mar 2025 09:24:30 +0000</pubDate>
  608. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  609. <category><![CDATA[contingency planning]]></category>
  610. <category><![CDATA[insurance]]></category>
  611. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  612. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16091</guid>
  613.  
  614. <description><![CDATA[<p>This post contains Affilliate links which will pay a small commission to me (at no cost to you) if you order through the links.&#160; &#160; A question has been plaguing [&#8230;]</p>
  615. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan/">How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan For You</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  616. ]]></description>
  617. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="zw-paginated zw-page ui-1056-816-portrait">
  618. <div class="zw-pagecontainer">
  619. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  620. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  621. <div><em>This post contains Affilliate links which will pay a small commission to me (at no cost to you) if you order through the links.&nbsp;</em></div>
  622. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  623. <div>A question has been plaguing me lately&#8230;</div>
  624. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  625. <div><em><strong>&#8220;How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan For You&#8221;</strong></em></div>
  626. </div>
  627. </div>
  628. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  629. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  630. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  631. <div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">I&#8217;m turning 62 this month and inching closer to a decision I view with mixed feelings.</span></div>
  632. </div>
  633. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  634. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  635. <div class="zw-column-container">
  636. <div>On the one hand, I&#8217;ve heard from many retirees that Medicare is a confusing web of options.&nbsp; I have a friend who has spent hundreds of hours analyzing the options, and I dread doing that myself.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve only recently begun to read about the topic, and I&#8217;m realizing the complexity of the decision ahead.</div>
  637. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  638. <div><strong>I&#8217;m dreading the thought of figuring it all out.</strong><em> (Fortunately, I&#8217;ve discovered a solution&#8230;read on)</em></div>
  639. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  640. <div>On the other hand, there&#8217;s the relief of saving some serious money.&nbsp; We&#8217;ve been paying for private insurance since I retired 7 years ago.&nbsp; It&#8217;s expensive, and I&#8217;m excited to experience the lower costs associated with Medicare.&nbsp;</div>
  641. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  642. <div><strong>I just wish there were an easier way to sign up for Medicare&#8230;&nbsp;</strong></div>
  643. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  644. <div>Fortunately, I&#8217;ve found a great <em>(and easy, and free)</em> solution, and today I&#8217;m excited to share it with you.</div>
  645. </div>
  646. </div>
  647. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  648. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  649. <div>I now know how we&#8217;re going to choose the best Medicare for my wife and me.&nbsp; The great news is, <strong>you&#8217;re going to be able to use the same solution I&#8217;ve discovered, for free!</strong>&nbsp; But I&#8217;m getting ahead of myself&#8230;&nbsp;</div>
  650. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  651. <div><hr /><p><em>I&#039;ve been dreading the chore of figuring out Medicare. Fortunately, I found an easier solution, and today I&#039;m sharing it with you.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fhow-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan%2F&#038;text=I%27ve%20been%20dreading%20the%20chore%20of%20figuring%20out%20Medicare.%20Fortunately%2C%20I%20found%20an%20easier%20solution%2C%20and%20today%20I%27m%20sharing%20it%20with%20you.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr /></div>
  652. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  653. <div class="zw-column-container">
  654. <div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16106" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-21-10.05.18-AM.png" alt="Medicare Advantage versus Traditional Medicare" width="440" height="666" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-21-10.05.18-AM.png 440w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-21-10.05.18-AM-198x300.png 198w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px" /></div>
  655. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  656. <div>
  657. <hr>
  658. </div>
  659. <h1>How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan For You</h1>
  660. <div>If you were paying attention, you received an email a few weeks ago announcing my first webinar.&nbsp; Today,<strong> I&#8217;m sharing the story behind that webina</strong>r, which includes the solution I&#8217;ve found for a question that&#8217;s been plaguing me:&nbsp; How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan.&nbsp;</div>
  661. </div>
  662. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  663. <div class="zw-column-container">
  664. <div>I couldn&#8217;t be happier with the solution I&#8217;ve found, and I&#8217;m excited to share it with you. But first, here&#8217;s a reminder in case you missed the announcement:</div>
  665. </div>
  666. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  667. </div>
  668. <div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>I&#8217;m Hosting My First Webinar!</strong></span></span></div>
  669. </div>
  670. </div>
  671. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  672. <div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Post Publishing Edit:&nbsp;</strong> <em><strong>Here&#8217;s The Recording of the Webinar:&nbsp;</strong></em></span></div>
  673. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  674. </div>
  675. <p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Medicare 101: The 7 Crucial Medicare Mistakes to Avoid" width="810" height="608" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d_pHq45j5jA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
  676. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  677. <div class="zw-paginated zw-page ui-1056-816-portrait">
  678. <div>
  679. <hr>
  680. </div>
  681. <div><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Solution I&#8217;m Using To Choose The Best Medicare Plan</strong></span></div>
  682. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  683. <div class="zw-pagecontainer">
  684. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  685. <div>Here&#8217;s the fun part &#8211; the story behind the webinar.</div>
  686. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  687. <div>There&#8217;s a reason I&#8217;m doing this webinar with Ari. As I started looking into Medicare, I made a conscious decision.&nbsp; Rather than invest my time researching Medicare, wouldn&#8217;t it be smarter to use that time to research Medicare experts instead?&nbsp; Some areas are best outsourced, and I&#8217;ve concluded that deciding on how to choose the best Medicare plan is something I&#8217;m comfortable leaving to the experts.</div>
  688. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  689. <div>
  690. <figure id="attachment_16092" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16092" style="width: 280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16092 size-medium" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-14-10.50.28-AM-280x300.png" alt="" width="280" height="300" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-14-10.50.28-AM-280x300.png 280w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-14-10.50.28-AM.png 382w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 280px) 100vw, 280px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16092" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Ari Parker: Co-Founder of Chapter</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  691. </div>
  692. <div>Ari&#8217;s company (Chapter) is the solution I&#8217;ve found to solve the puzzle of How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan.</div>
  693. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  694. <div>Solving the Medicare puzzle is what they do.&nbsp; And they&#8217;re good at it.&nbsp; Very good at it.&nbsp; Here&#8217;s a quick summary:</div>
  695. </div>
  696. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  697. <ul>
  698. <li>Dave Ramsey uses them for all of his listeners.</li>
  699. <li>They&#8217;re independent and unbiased experts on Medicare.</li>
  700. <li>Their advisors do not know the commissions of the products they recommend.</li>
  701. <li>They have an A+ Rating from the Better Business Bureau.</li>
  702. <li>They have a 5.0 rating, with over 2,500 reviews.</li>
  703. <li>Their proprietary software finds your best solution.</li>
  704. <li>It&#8217;s entirely free, and there&#8217;s no obligation.</li>
  705. </ul>
  706. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  707. <div>A special point on Bullet 3:&nbsp; This was one of the biggest reasons I chose Chapter.&nbsp; The reality is that many Medicare &#8220;experts&#8221; are guilty of being overly influenced by the commissions they receive on various products. One of my biggest concerns was having my advisor recommending something that made them the most money, rather than the product that best matched my needs.&nbsp; The fact that their advisors are &#8220;blind&#8221; to the commissions on the products they&#8217;re recommending was a big factor in my final decision.&nbsp;</div>
  708. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  709. <div>Let me be clear:&nbsp; I&#8217;m not going to try to &#8220;sell&#8221; you on using them.&nbsp; I&#8217;m simply sharing what I&#8217;ve found in my research, and letting you know that I&#8217;m going to be using them to help me choose the best Medicare for my wife and me.&nbsp; I believe they are a great solution to a difficult challenge all of us face, and I wanted to make you aware.</div>
  710. </div>
  711. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  712. <div>Second, rest assured that <strong>the webinar will NOT be a sales pitch.&nbsp;</strong> I have asked Ari to focus his presentation on common mistakes people make when choosing a Medicare plan and answering the reader&#8217;s questions.&nbsp; I will mention my new partnership with Ari&#8217;s company, but that will be it.&nbsp; The purpose of the webinar is to provide education to you from a true Medicare expert, NOT to sell you on a solution.</div>
  713. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  714. <div>Based on the response to the webinar, I know Medicare is a major concern for many of you.&nbsp; I&#8217;m simply sharing what I&#8217;ve discovered as the solution I&#8217;ll be using to make it a lot easier when it&#8217;s my time to decide on a plan.&nbsp;</div>
  715. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  716. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  717. </div>
  718. </div>
  719. <div class="zw-pagecontainer">
  720. <div>
  721. <hr>
  722. </div>
  723. <div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16113" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/problem-2731501_640.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="336" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/problem-2731501_640.jpg 640w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/problem-2731501_640-300x158.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
  724. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  725. <div><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Good News &#8211; A Solution For My Readers</strong></span></div>
  726. </div>
  727. </div>
  728. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  729. <div class="zw-paginated zw-page ui-1056-816-portrait">
  730. <div>I&#8217;ve had numerous phone calls with Ari and his team, and we&#8217;ve reached an agreement.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve decided that Ari&#8217;s company will be the company I recommend for any of my readers looking for help with Medicare.&nbsp; For readers of The Retirement Manifesto, they&#8217;ll:</div>
  731. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  732. <ul>
  733. <li>Help you choose the best Medicare plan for you, at no cost.</li>
  734. <li>Provide expertise in all 50 States, based on the plans available in your area.</li>
  735. <li>Get you signed up with whatever plan you choose.</li>
  736. <li>Conduct an annual review during the &#8220;enrollment window&#8221; and advise if changes should be made.&nbsp;</li>
  737. <li>If you&#8217;re already enrolled, they&#8217;ll review your plan and let you know if it&#8217;s the best for you.</li>
  738. <li>Once you&#8217;ve talked with them, you&#8217;re under no obligation to follow their recommendation.</li>
  739. </ul>
  740. </div>
  741. <div>If you&#8217;re interested in talking to them:</div>
  742. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  743. <div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://switchers.askchapter.org/ntm/embed/simple-switchers?overridePhoneNumber=7755650284&amp;utm_campaign=RM_MC_WE_DF_4O_US_H0_3U" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>CLICK THIS LINK TO GET STARTED</strong></a>&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(Affiliate Link)</em></span></span></div>
  744. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  745. <div>If you prefer to call, simply <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>dial (775) 565-0284.</strong></span>&nbsp;</div>
  746. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  747. <div class="zw-paginated zw-page ui-1056-816-portrait">
  748. <div>In full transparency, I&#8217;ve entered an &#8220;Affiliate Agreement&#8221; with Ari&#8217;s company, Chapter.&nbsp; It&#8217;s a common arrangement in the blogging world, and it means I&#8217;ll get a small commission (at no cost to you) if you decide to use Chapter as your Medicare advisor.&nbsp; I wouldn&#8217;t have entered this agreement if I didn&#8217;t believe it was the best solution available, and I&#8217;d be recommending them regardless of whether or not I received a commission.&nbsp; &nbsp;In fact, as a show of good faith, I&#8217;ve decided to donate 50% of any commissions earned to charity.&nbsp; <strong>I&#8217;m not in this for the money</strong>, and I hope I&#8217;ve earned enough of your trust at this point for you to recognize my motives are pure.</div>
  749. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  750. <div><strong>The good news:</strong>&nbsp; you can take advantage of that link, talk with them to get their input on the best Medicare plan (or have them review your current plan and give their recommendation on whether it&#8217;s the best plan for you), and then decide you don&#8217;t want to go that route and do something else.&nbsp;</div>
  751. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  752. <div>There&#8217;s no obligation, and it&#8217;s always free.</div>
  753. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  754. <div>
  755. <hr>
  756. </div>
  757. <div><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Decide For Yourself</strong></span></div>
  758. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  759. <div class="zw-pagecontainer">
  760. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  761. <div>I wanted to share the full story before you joined the webinar.&nbsp; Hopefully, you&#8217;ll now be watching with a slightly different perspective.&nbsp; Consider it your opportunity to get a glimpse into Ari&#8217;s way of thinking as you review your options for how you&#8217;re going to choose the best Medicare plan for you and your family.&nbsp; If you like what you see, come back to this post and simply <a href="https://switchers.askchapter.org/ntm/embed/simple-switchers?overridePhoneNumber=7755650284&amp;utm_campaign=RM_MC_WE_DF_4O_US_H0_3U" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>click the link</strong></a> to start the process.</div>
  762. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  763. <div>
  764. <hr>
  765. </div>
  766. <div><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>A Brief Homework Assignment:&nbsp; Medicare 101 (3 P&#8217;s)</strong></span></div>
  767. </div>
  768. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  769. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  770. <div>As we prepare for the webinar, I wanted to give a brief overview of Medicare to &#8220;get you up to speed&#8221; on the basics before the session.&nbsp; The &#8220;3 P&#8217;s&#8221; outline below are taken from Ari&#8217;s book, <a href="https://amzn.to/41Bo8iJ" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&#8220;It&#8217;s Not That Complicated: The Three Medicare Decisions to Protect Your Health and Money&#8221; </strong></a><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(<em>Amazon Affiliate link</em>)</span>.&nbsp; I ordered the book last week and look forward to reading it as I continue my Medicare education.&nbsp;</div>
  771. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  772. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  773. <div class="zw-column-container">
  774. <div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Medicare 101:</strong></span></div>
  775. <div class="zw-column">
  776. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  777. <div class="zw-line-div">
  778. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  779. <div class="zw-line-content"><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="92">Traditional Medicare consists of two parts:</span></div>
  780. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  781. <ul>
  782. <li class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Part A covers hospital stays and is premium-free for most people but there’s a substantial </span><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" style="font-size: 1rem;" data-text-len="11">deductible.</span></li>
  783. <li class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Part B covers doctor visits and outpatient care. The monthly premium is $185/mo for most Americans.</span></li>
  784. </ul>
  785. </div>
  786. </div>
  787. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  788. <div class="zw-line-div">
  789. <div class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Part D is prescription drug coverage. It’s technically optional, but there’s a late enrollment penalty if you don&#8217;t sign up in time.&nbsp; </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">It’s crucial to understand that Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) is not comprehensive health insurance.&nbsp; So, the key question is:</span></div>
  790. </div>
  791. </div>
  792. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  793. <div class="zw-line-div">
  794. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  795. <div class="zw-line-content"><strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" style="font-size: 1rem;" data-text-len="36">How will you cover the 20% Medicare doesn&#8217;t cover?</span></strong></div>
  796. </div>
  797. </div>
  798. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  799. <div class="zw-line-div">
  800. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  801. <div class="zw-line-content"><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="73">The good news is that there are only two options to cover the 20%.</span></div>
  802. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  803. </div>
  804. </div>
  805. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  806. <div class="zw-line-div">
  807. <div class="zw-line-content"><span class="zw-bullet zw-bullet-unorder-list"><strong>&#8211;</strong> </span><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="85"><strong>Option&nbsp;1</strong> is to choose a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan, which sits on top of your Original Medicare and allows you to see any Medicare provider nationwide.</span></div>
  808. </div>
  809. <div class="zw-line-div">
  810. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  811. </div>
  812. </div>
  813. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  814. <div class="zw-line-div">
  815. <div class="zw-line-content"><strong><span class="zw-bullet zw-bullet-unorder-list">&#8211; </span></strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="87"><strong>Option&nbsp;2</strong> is a Medicare Advantage plan, which is an &#8220;all-in-one&#8221; alternative to Original&nbsp;</span><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" style="font-size: 1rem;" data-text-len="87">Medicare offered by private insurers. These bundled plans typically include Part D drug </span><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" style="font-size: 1rem;" data-text-len="79">coverage and extras like dental and vision. They often have lower premiums than Medigap but come with network restrictions and other rules.</span></div>
  816. </div>
  817. </div>
  818. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  819. <div class="zw-line-div">
  820. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  821. </div>
  822. <div class="zw-line-div">
  823. <div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Three P&#8217;s</strong></span></div>
  824. </div>
  825. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  826. <div class="zw-line-div">
  827. <div>When deciding between Original Medicare (Parts A &amp; B) plus a separate drug plan versus an all-in-one Medicare Advantage plan, consider these &#8220;3 P&#8217;s&#8221;:</div>
  828. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  829. <div class="zw-line-content"><strong style="font-size: 1rem;"><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="9">Providers:&nbsp; </span></strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="9">Is it important to keep your current doctors?&nbsp; With Original Medicare, you can see any provider nationwide who accepts Medicare.&nbsp; Most Advantage plans have restricted networks.</span></div>
  830. </div>
  831. </div>
  832. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  833. <div class="zw-line-div">
  834. <div class="zw-line-content">&nbsp;</div>
  835. </div>
  836. </div>
  837. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  838. <div class="zw-line-div">
  839. <div class="zw-line-content"><strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="13">Prescriptions:</span></strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="74"> How much do you spend on medications?&nbsp; Compare Part D and Advantage plan formularies and costs for the drugs you take.&nbsp; An inexpensive plan may cost more in the long run if it has high prescription copays.</span></div>
  840. </div>
  841. <div class="zw-line-div">
  842. <div class="zw-line-content">&nbsp;</div>
  843. </div>
  844. </div>
  845. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  846. <div class="zw-line-div">
  847. <div class="zw-line-content"><strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="10">Priorities: </span></strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="86"><strong>&nbsp;</strong>What do you value most in a health plan &#8211; low premiums, extra benefits, simplicity, flexibility, or minimal out-of-pocket costs? Advantage plans often have low premiums but more restrictions. Pairing Medigap with Original Medicare costs more monthly but covers more with less complexity.</span></div>
  848. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  849. </div>
  850. <div class="zw-line-div">
  851. <div class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">In closing, it&#8217;s important to note that every Chapter Advisor is trained to use their proven 3 Ps Method to review each Medicare beneficiary’s providers, prescriptions, and priorities —</span><em style="font-size: 1rem;"> &#8220;ensuring that every client receives the high-quality healthcare they need and deserve at the best value.&#8221;</em></div>
  852. </div>
  853. </div>
  854. </div>
  855. </div>
  856. </div>
  857. </div>
  858. </div>
  859. </div>
  860. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  861. <div class="zw-paginated zw-page ui-1056-816-portrait">
  862. <div class="zw-pagecontainer">
  863. <div class="float-image-container">
  864. <div class="float-image-content-container">
  865. <hr>
  866. </div>
  867. <div class="float-image-header-container unselectableSection"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></div>
  868. </div>
  869. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  870. <div class="float-image-container">
  871. <div class="float-image-footer-container unselectableSection">I&#8217;m no longer dreading having to choose the best Medicare plan. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">I&#8217;ve found a solution that I&#8217;m comfortable with.&nbsp; It&#8217;s free, it&#8217;s easy, and I have confidence that I&#8217;ll be getting my recommendations from unbiased experts who know more about Medicare than I care to learn.</span></div>
  872. </div>
  873. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  874. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  875. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  876. <div class="zw-column-container">
  877. <div class="zw-column">
  878. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  879. <div class="zw-line-div">
  880. <div class="zw-line-content">I&#8217;m so impressed with the company that I&#8217;ve decided to partner with them. I realize Medicare is a concern for many of the readers of this blog, and I wanted to share the solution that I&#8217;ve decided to use personally.&nbsp; Yes, I have an Affiliate Partnership with them, but my motives are pure.&nbsp; I think they&#8217;re the best solution available, so I&#8217;m sharing it with you.&nbsp; If you know of a better solution, drop a comment below.&nbsp; Let&#8217;s work together to solve a frustratingly complex issue for all of us &#8211; How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan.</div>
  881. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  882. <div class="zw-line-content">As a next step, I&#8217;d encourage you to join the free webinar and see what you think.&nbsp; At a minimum, you&#8217;ll learn a lot about Medicare from a true expert.&nbsp; At best, you&#8217;ll be on a path to figuring out how you&#8217;re going to choose the best Medicare plan for your family.&nbsp; If you haven&#8217;t yet, click the button below to register for the webinar:</div>
  883. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  884. <div class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JnfGizfaSq6Yw96Pnd5TCA#/registration" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Register For the Webinar.</strong></a></span></div>
  885. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  886. <div class="zw-line-content">Then, make your own decision.&nbsp; If you&#8217;ve already heard enough and want to get started with Chapter:</div>
  887. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  888. <div class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://switchers.askchapter.org/ntm/embed/simple-switchers?overridePhoneNumber=7755650284&amp;utm_campaign=RM_MC_WE_DF_4O_US_H0_3U" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Click This Link To Talk With Chapter</strong></a></span> <em>(Affiliate Link)</em></div>
  889. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  890. <div class="zw-line-content"><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong style="font-size: 14pt;">If you&#8217;d rather call, dial (775) 565-0284.</strong></span>&nbsp;</em></div>
  891. </div>
  892. </div>
  893. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  894. <div class="zw-line-div">
  895. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  896. <div class="zw-line-content">I&#8217;m excited about being able to provide this solution to my readers.</div>
  897. </div>
  898. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  899. <div>I know there&#8217;s a real need, and I hope others can benefit from the solution I&#8217;ve chosen for myself.</div>
  900. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  901. </div>
  902. </div>
  903. </div>
  904. <div>
  905. <hr>
  906. </div>
  907. </div>
  908. </div>
  909. </div>
  910. </div>
  911. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></em></span> If you&#8217;re already on Medicare, what process did you use and how confident are you that you chose the best Medicare plan for you?&nbsp; If you&#8217;re not yet on Medicare, are you intimidated by the decision?&nbsp; How are you planning to go about making the decision?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat&#8230;</p>
  912. <p>&nbsp;</p>
  913. <div>
  914. <p class="" dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em><span class="">Chapter Advisory, LLC (“Chapter”) is a private health insurance agency. In California, Chapter does business as Chapter Insurance Services (Lic. No. 6003691). Chapter is not affiliated with or endorsed by any government entity. While Chapter has a database of every Medicare plan option nationwide and can help you to search among all options, it has contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, Chapter does not offer every plan available in your area. Currently, Chapter represents 50 organizations which offer 18,601 products nationwide. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. Please contact&nbsp;<a class="" href="http://medicare.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Medicare.gov</a>, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. Enrollment in a plan may be limited to certain times of the year unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period or you are in your Medicare Initial Enrollment Period.</span></em></span></p>
  915. </div>
  916. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan/">How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan For You</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  917. ]]></content:encoded>
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  920. <slash:comments>66</slash:comments>
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  924. <item>
  925. <title>3 Levels of Retirement Readiness: Where Do You Stand?</title>
  926. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/3-levels-of-retirement-readiness-where-do-you-stand/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=3-levels-of-retirement-readiness-where-do-you-stand</link>
  927. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/3-levels-of-retirement-readiness-where-do-you-stand/#comments</comments>
  929. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  930. <pubDate>Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:00:25 +0000</pubDate>
  931. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  932. <category><![CDATA[financial planning]]></category>
  933. <category><![CDATA[Purpose]]></category>
  934. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  935. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16021</guid>
  936.  
  937. <description><![CDATA[<p>Retirement is a difficult transition.&#160; Retirement Readiness is the key to making it easier. As I was preparing for retirement, I talked with some of my co-workers who retired before [&#8230;]</p>
  938. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/3-levels-of-retirement-readiness-where-do-you-stand/">3 Levels of Retirement Readiness: Where Do You Stand?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  939. ]]></description>
  940. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Retirement is a difficult transition.&nbsp; Retirement Readiness is the key to making it easier.</strong></p>
  941. <p>As I was preparing for retirement, I talked with some of my co-workers who retired before me.&nbsp;</p>
  942. <p>Many commented on how difficult the transition was. Wanting to avoid that in my retirement, I did a lot of research. I discovered that retirement readiness is the most important thing you can do as you prepare to cross &#8220;The Starting Line.&#8221;&nbsp; The effectiveness of that planning has the highest correlation of any factor in determining how smoothly your transition into retirement will be.&nbsp;</p>
  943. <p>But what does retirement readiness mean?&nbsp; What does it look like?&nbsp; How do I know if I&#8217;m prepared?</p>
  944. <p>Most people think it&#8217;s all about the money when deciding when to retire. Don&#8217;t be one of those people.</p>
  945. <p>As I often say, <strong>&#8220;The money side is necessary but not sufficient.&#8221;</strong> To be fully prepared for your transition into retirement, it&#8217;s critical to include non-financial aspects in your planning, such as&#8230;</p>
  946. <ul>
  947. <li>Replacing relationships you&#8217;ll lose from work.</li>
  948. <li>Adjusting to spending 24 hours/day with your spouse.</li>
  949. <li>Dealing with your loss of identity.</li>
  950. <li>Creating the right amount of structure to your day.</li>
  951. </ul>
  952. <p>The one piece of advice I give to anyone who asks how best to achieve retirement readiness is this:</p>
  953. <p><em>&#8220;Spend as much time as possible planning for both the financial and non-financial aspects of retirement.&#8221;</em></p>
  954. <p><strong>That&#8217;s nice, but what does it mean?</strong></p>
  955. <p>If you&#8217;re asking that question, today&#8217;s post is for you.</p>
  956. <p>Below, I&#8217;ll lay out <strong>three different levels of retirement readiness</strong>, from Basic to Advanced.&nbsp; For each level, I&#8217;ll outline the traits and milestones you&#8217;ll need to accomplish to achieve that level.&nbsp; In the next few moments, you&#8217;ll know exactly where you stand on the Retirement Readiness scale, and what you need to do to achieve Level 3.</p>
  957. <hr /><p><em>How do you know if you&#039;re ready for retirement? Have you achieved Level 3 on the Retirement Readiness scale? If so, you&#039;re ready.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2F3-levels-of-retirement-readiness-where-do-you-stand%2F&#038;text=How%20do%20you%20know%20if%20you%27re%20ready%20for%20retirement%3F%20Have%20you%20achieved%20Level%203%20on%20the%20Retirement%20Readiness%20scale%3F%20If%20so%2C%20you%27re%20ready.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  958. <hr>
  959. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16063" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-05-4.22.42-PM.png" alt="" width="444" height="665" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-05-4.22.42-PM.png 444w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-05-4.22.42-PM-200x300.png 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 444px) 100vw, 444px" /></p>
  960. <p>&nbsp;</p>
  961. <hr>
  962. <h2><strong>Level 1: Basic Retirement Readiness</strong> (Just Getting Started)</h2>
  963. <p>I know many people who transitioned into retirement from Level I on the Retirement Readiness scale.&nbsp; Sure, they made it, but they&#8217;re typically the ones who have the most difficult transitions.&nbsp; Often, these folks are &#8220;forced out&#8221; unexpectedly and never saw it coming.&nbsp; Sometimes, they&#8217;re just procrastinators. They&#8217;ve been thinking about retirement, but figure it&#8217;s easiest to wait and figure it all out when they&#8217;re done working.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  964. <p><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">They&#8217;re wrong, as they&#8217;ll eventually realize when they deal with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Phase II</strong></a> about a year after retiring. Do yourself a favor and look at Levels 2 and 3, identify the gaps in your planning, and invest the effort now to fully prepare for retirement.&nbsp;</span></p>
  965. <p>Your future self will thank you.</p>
  966. <h3><strong>Financial Traits:</strong></h3>
  967. <ul>
  968. <li>You have some savings but no clear retirement plan.</li>
  969. <li>You plan to rely mostly on Social Security or employer pensions but haven&#8217;t done the hard math.</li>
  970. <li>You haven’t calculated your retirement expenses or income needs.</li>
  971. <li>Debt (mortgage, credit cards, loans) is still a major concern.</li>
  972. <li>Healthcare and long-term care planning are not yet addressed.</li>
  973. </ul>
  974. <h3><strong>Non-Financial Traits:</strong></h3>
  975. <ul>
  976. <li>Your identity is still tied to your career, and you haven’t considered what life looks like beyond work.</li>
  977. <li>Your social circle is mostly work-based, and you haven’t built strong relationships outside the office.</li>
  978. <li>You haven’t thought much about how you’ll structure your days post-retirement.</li>
  979. <li>You haven&#8217;t considered how you&#8217;ll achieve a sense of purpose beyond work.</li>
  980. </ul>
  981. <h3><strong>Steps to Improve:</strong></h3>
  982. <ul>
  983. <li>Start tracking expenses and estimating retirement costs.</li>
  984. <li>Increase retirement contributions (401(k), IRA, etc.).</li>
  985. <li>Begin exploring hobbies or volunteer opportunities that interest you.</li>
  986. <li>Strengthen relationships outside of work (join clubs, reconnect with family/friends).</li>
  987. <li>Think about what gives you a sense of fulfillment beyond your career.</li>
  988. </ul>
  989. <hr>
  990. <h2><strong>Level 2: Intermediate Retirement Readiness</strong> (On the Right Track)</h2>
  991. <p>I don&#8217;t have statistics, but if I had to guess I&#8217;d say the majority of folks reading this blog fall into Level II.&nbsp; They&#8217;ve done some planning, but haven&#8217;t taken all the steps necessary to achieve Level 3.&nbsp; If you&#8217;ve achieved Level 2, you&#8217;re going to be fine.&nbsp; However, to become one of the 15% of retirees who <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>skip the dreaded Phase II</strong> </a>in retirement, you&#8217;ve got a bit more work to do to achieve Level 3.</p>
  992. <h3><strong>Financial Traits:</strong></h3>
  993. <ul>
  994. <li>You have a structured savings and investment strategy.</li>
  995. <li>A financial plan exists, but some areas still need refinement.</li>
  996. <li>You have considered healthcare costs but haven’t fully planned for long-term care.</li>
  997. <li>You are exploring different retirement lifestyles (downsizing, part-time work, travel).</li>
  998. <li>Debt is under control, but not completely eliminated.</li>
  999. </ul>
  1000. <h3><strong>Non-Financial Traits:</strong></h3>
  1001. <ul>
  1002. <li>You have started to shift your identity beyond your career but may still feel uncertain about what comes next.</li>
  1003. <li>You&#8217;re aware of the need to build new friendships and deepen family connections but have more to do.</li>
  1004. <li>You are experimenting with different activities (hobbies, part-time work, volunteering) but haven’t fully committed to a new structure.</li>
  1005. <li>You are beginning to redefine what achievement looks like in retirement—moving from work-related goals to personal growth and fulfillment.</li>
  1006. </ul>
  1007. <h3><strong>Steps to Improve:</strong></h3>
  1008. <ul>
  1009. <li>Fine-tune your investment portfolio to <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-retirement-paycheck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>create a retirement paycheck</strong></a>.</li>
  1010. <li>Develop a <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/our-retirement-investment-drawdown-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Drawdown Strategy</strong></a>.</li>
  1011. <li>Plan for healthcare and<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-we-arent-buying-long-term-care-insurance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> long-term care</strong></a> beyond Medicare.</li>
  1012. <li>Test your retirement budget by living on your projected income.</li>
  1013. <li>Explore part-time work, mentoring, or volunteering to maintain a sense of purpose.</li>
  1014. <li>Develop a structured daily routine to prevent boredom and maintain productivity.</li>
  1015. </ul>
  1016. <hr>
  1017. <h2><strong>Level 3: Advanced Retirement Readiness</strong> (Fully Prepared &amp; Optimized)</h2>
  1018. <p><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">If you&#8217;re goal-oriented, I challenge you to achieve Level 3 on the Retirement Readiness scale before you retire. At this level, you&#8217;ll be fully prepared and will have a much easier transition into retirement. As I mentioned in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/shining-the-light-on-retirement-blind-spots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Shining The Light on Retirement Blindspots</strong></a>, only 19% of retirees &#8220;strongly agree&#8221; that the transition was smooth. I suspect those 19% had achieved Level 3 on the Retirement Readiness scale.</span></p>
  1019. <p>Review the traits below, identify your gaps, and work on filling them now.&nbsp; When you cross &#8220;The Starting Line,&#8221; you&#8217;ll be in the best possible position to enjoy your next phase of life.</p>
  1020. <h3><strong>Financial Traits:</strong></h3>
  1021. <ul>
  1022. <li>You&#8217;ve completed the <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/10-steps-to-prepare-your-finances-for-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>10 Steps To Prepare Your Finances for Retirement.</strong></a></li>
  1023. <li>You have a well-structured <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/our-retirement-investment-drawdown-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>withdrawal plan</strong></a> that minimizes taxes.</li>
  1024. <li>You&#8217;ve created a strategy for <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-golden-age-of-roth-conversions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Roth conversions,</strong></a> if appropriate.</li>
  1025. <li>You&#8217;ve created, and funded, your <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-retirement-paycheck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Paycheck</strong></a> strategy.</li>
  1026. <li>Your investments are diversified and aligned with retirement goals.</li>
  1027. <li>You have a clear strategy for Social Security and Medicare.</li>
  1028. <li>Your estate and legacy planning are complete (wills, trusts, beneficiaries).</li>
  1029. <li>You have planned for long-term care and unexpected expenses.</li>
  1030. </ul>
  1031. <h3><strong>Non-Financial Traits:</strong></h3>
  1032. <ul>
  1033. <li>You have identified at least one new role you&#8217;d like to pursue in retirement.</li>
  1034. <li>You&#8217;ve accepted the reality that your sense of identity will change.</li>
  1035. <li>You&#8217;ve built at least 2 new relationships outside of work that will continue in retirement.</li>
  1036. <li>If married, you&#8217;ve discussed how much time you want together (and alone).&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
  1037. <li>You have considered how much structure you want in retirement and what you&#8217;ll do to achieve it.</li>
  1038. <li>You&#8217;re starting to engage in non-work activities that bring joy, personal growth, and a sense of purpose.</li>
  1039. <li>You feel a sense of achievement through hobbies, education, community involvement, or family contributions.</li>
  1040. </ul>
  1041. <h3><strong>Steps to Maintain Readiness:</strong></h3>
  1042. <ul>
  1043. <li>Continually review and adjust your plan based on economic and personal changes.</li>
  1044. <li>If you&#8217;re a DIY investor, do a retirement readiness review with a financial planner.</li>
  1045. <li>Stay physically and mentally active through exercise, learning, and engagement.</li>
  1046. <li>Schedule a regular &#8220;Talk Date&#8221; with your spouse to discuss how things are going.</li>
  1047. <li>Reassess estate plans and beneficiaries regularly.</li>
  1048. <li>Keep setting new personal goals to ensure continued fulfillment and purpose.</li>
  1049. </ul>
  1050. <hr>
  1051. <h2><strong>Conclusion</strong></h2>
  1052. <p>As I planned for retirement, I recognized that retirement readiness was the key to a successful transition. I invested heavily in retirement planning and am convinced it was <strong>the #1 reason my transition was as smooth</strong> as it was. Learn from my experience and recognize that your retirement planning must extend beyond the financial elements.</p>
  1053. <p>Review the 3 Levels of Retirement Readiness outlined above, and invest your time filling the gaps to achieve Level 3 before your retirement date.&nbsp; Pay special attention to the emotional and social aspects.&nbsp; Think about all of the non-financial benefits you receive from work, and build a plan to replace them as you transition into retirement.</p>
  1054. <p><span data-slate-fragment="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"><strong>If you&#8217;ve already retired</strong>, I&#8217;m curious what level you were when you retired, and how that impacted your transition. Let&#8217;s put some &#8220;reader data&#8221; to the theory that more preparation results in a smoother transition. Please drop a comment below if your experience could help others.</span></p>
  1055. <p>Retirement can be the best years of your life, but it won&#8217;t happen by accident.</p>
  1056. <p>Take the time, now, to prepare yourself.</p>
  1057. <p>The Starting Line awaits.</p>
  1058. <p><strong>Are you ready to cross it?</strong></p>
  1059. <hr>
  1060. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></em></span> If you&#8217;ve not yet retired, where do you rate yourself on the Retirement Readiness Scale?&nbsp; If you&#8217;ve already retired, where were you on the scale when you retired, how did it go, and what lessons can others learn from your experience?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  1061. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/3-levels-of-retirement-readiness-where-do-you-stand/">3 Levels of Retirement Readiness: Where Do You Stand?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1062. ]]></content:encoded>
  1064. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/3-levels-of-retirement-readiness-where-do-you-stand/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1065. <slash:comments>44</slash:comments>
  1068. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16021</post-id> </item>
  1069. <item>
  1070. <title>I Am Rich And Have No Idea What To Do With My Life</title>
  1071. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/i-am-rich-and-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-my-life/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=i-am-rich-and-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-my-life</link>
  1072. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/i-am-rich-and-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-my-life/#comments</comments>
  1074. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  1075. <pubDate>Thu, 06 Feb 2025 09:13:50 +0000</pubDate>
  1076. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  1077. <category><![CDATA[carpe diem]]></category>
  1078. <category><![CDATA[contentment]]></category>
  1079. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  1080. <category><![CDATA[Purpose]]></category>
  1081. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=15913</guid>
  1082.  
  1083. <description><![CDATA[<p>I read something a while back and it penetrated my brain. It&#8217;s a story of wealth, but it&#8217;s more than that.&#160;&#160; When I first read the story, my initial impression [&#8230;]</p>
  1084. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/i-am-rich-and-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-my-life/">I Am Rich And Have No Idea What To Do With My Life</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1085. ]]></description>
  1086. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I read something a while back and it penetrated my brain.</p>
  1087. <p>It&#8217;s a story of wealth, but it&#8217;s more than that.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1088. <p>When I first read the story, my initial impression was distasteful.&nbsp; It seemed to be the story of a guy who was too rich and complaining about his lot in life.</p>
  1089. <p>But the more I thought about it, I realized his struggles mirror those we all have.&nbsp; I also realized there are <strong>5 valuable lessons</strong> that we can learn from his experience, so I&#8217;ve included them below.</p>
  1090. <p><strong>After all, let&#8217;s be honest.&nbsp;</strong></p>
  1091. <p>If you&#8217;re reading this blog and can retire, you are wealthy from a global and historical perspective.&nbsp; If your net worth is <strong>$100,000, you&#8217;re richer than 90%</strong> of the people in the world <em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/07/how-much-money-you-need-to-be-in-the-richest-10-percent-worldwide.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this</a> report).&nbsp;</span></em></p>
  1092. <p>I&#8217;m confident that 90% of the readers of this blog are richer than 90% of the people in the world.&nbsp;</p>
  1093. <p><strong>Say it with me, &#8220;I Am Rich.&#8221;</strong></p>
  1094. <p>Turns out we have something in common with the guy in the story.&nbsp; Sure, he&#8217;s REALLY rich, but haven&#8217;t we built enough wealth to consider never working again?&nbsp; <strong>The difference is one of scale, but not of substance.</strong></p>
  1095. <p>So, let&#8217;s focus on the second part of the headline&#8230;</p>
  1096. <p>&#8220;&#8230;And Have No Idea What To Do With My Life.&#8221;</p>
  1097. <p>At its core, the story begs the following question, which applies to all of us who are &#8220;rich.&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1098. <hr /><p><em>When a person has achieved material wealth, what&#039;s next? </em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fi-am-rich-and-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-my-life%2F&#038;text=When%20a%20person%20has%20achieved%20material%20wealth%2C%20what%27s%20next%3F%20&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  1099. <p>To learn the story behind this rich guy, and the lessons we can learn from his experience,</p>
  1100. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Read on&#8230;</strong></span></p>
  1101. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16008" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-5.33.11-AM.png" alt="money doesn't buy happiness" width="535" height="666" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-5.33.11-AM.png 535w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-5.33.11-AM-241x300.png 241w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 535px) 100vw, 535px" /></p>
  1102. <hr>
  1103. <h1>I Am Rich And Have No Idea What To Do With My Life</h1>
  1104. <p>I&#8217;ve never heard of Vinay Hiremath, but he&#8217;s the protagonist in today&#8217;s story.&nbsp; Here&#8217;s what he looks like, dated September 2024 at the US Open <em>(source: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/vhmth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his Instagram account</a>).&nbsp;</em>&nbsp;</p>
  1105. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16016" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-6.37.15-AM.png" alt="" width="309" height="304" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-6.37.15-AM.png 309w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-6.37.15-AM-300x295.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 309px) 100vw, 309px" /></p>
  1106. <p>Looks like a nice enough guy, though pretty young to be filthy rich.&nbsp; What&#8217;s his story?&nbsp;</p>
  1107. <p>Vinay was the Co-Founder of a tech company called <a href="https://www.loom.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Loom</strong></a> (&#8220;The easiest screen recorder you&#8217;ll ever use&#8221;).&nbsp; After an &#8220;intense 10-year journey,&#8221; he sold Loom for just under <a href="https://x.com/vhmth/status/1712456811305951676" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>$1 Billion</strong> </a>to Atlassian, and Vinay became a very rich man.</p>
  1108. <p>I learned about Vinay thanks to my friends at <a href="https://apexmoney.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Apex Money</strong></a>, who shared his article:</p>
  1109. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a href="https://vinay.sh/i-am-rich-and-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-my-life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&#8220;I am rich and have no idea what to do with my life.&#8221;</strong></a></span></p>
  1110. <p><strong>Stop and read it.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></p>
  1111. <p>Vinay shared the article on his X account, where it&#8217;s had over 1 Million views and 2k comments.&nbsp; It&#8217;s worth taking a quick detour down the X chain&#8230;Here&#8217;s his <a href="https://x.com/vhmth/status/1874950613311824347" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>original tweet:</strong></a>&nbsp;</p>
  1112. <hr>
  1113. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16012" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-6.11.12-AM.png" alt="" width="591" height="326" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-6.11.12-AM.png 591w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-6.11.12-AM-300x165.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-6.11.12-AM-135x75.png 135w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-6.11.12-AM-270x150.png 270w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 591px) 100vw, 591px" /></p>
  1114. <hr>
  1115. <p>I encourage you to click on the <a href="https://x.com/vhmth/status/1874950613311824347" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>tweet</strong></a> and have fun reading through some of those 2.3K comments.&nbsp; It&#8217;s interesting to see how different folks respond.&nbsp; A few examples below:&nbsp;</p>
  1116. <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>From <a href="https://x.com/levelsio/status/1874957706928456081" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Levelsio</a>: </strong></span></p>
  1117. <p>Embrace having no purpose. Embrace being bored. Don&#8217;t run away from it, run into it!!! Go travel as a digital nomad. Lift heavy weights. Eat clean. Your next thing will show up but you gotta lose control and just accept the nothingness for awhile.</p>
  1118. <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>From <a href="https://x.com/pokerchessman/status/1874952600468312431" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Madhattr3</a>:</strong></span></p>
  1119. <p>Have kids if you can. Then the question will change from “what to do with my life” to “how do I help grow these tiny people into awesome adults”</p>
  1120. <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>From <a href="https://x.com/justingordon212/status/1874959758975008829" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Justin Gordon:</a></strong></span></p>
  1121. <p>Appreciate you sharing this Vinay and hope you figure it out. As a fallback, being of service to others always seems like a good thing and a meaningful use of time as well as doing things for their own sake</p>
  1122. <hr>
  1123. <p><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 14pt;"><strong>My favorite response, from <a href="https://x.com/HumbleFlow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HumbleFlow</a>:</strong></span></p>
  1124. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16014" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-6.32.12-AM-e1738323193890.png" alt="" width="450" height="237"></p>
  1125. <hr>
  1126. <p><strong>&#8220;The truth is&#8230;these are the questions everyone faces.&#8221;&nbsp;</strong> <em>Humble Flow</em></p>
  1127. <p>This stuff is food for my brain. As I said in the intro, when a person has achieved material wealth, what&#8217;s next?</p>
  1128. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>What Do You Want To Do With Your Life?</strong></em></span></span></p>
  1129. <p>It&#8217;s a question we all need to answer.</p>
  1130. <hr>
  1131. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>5 Lessons From Vinay&#8217;s Experience</strong></span></p>
  1132. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you&#8217;ve <strong><a href="https://vinay.sh/i-am-rich-and-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-my-life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read his article</a></strong>, you&#8217;ll recognize the opening below:</span></p>
  1133. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>Note: Please read his article, I won&#8217;t be summarizing it since I know you can read, wink.&nbsp;</em></span></p>
  1134. <figure id="attachment_16029" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16029" style="width: 691px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16029" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-5.19.04-PM.png" alt="" width="691" height="378" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-5.19.04-PM.png 691w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-5.19.04-PM-300x164.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-5.19.04-PM-135x75.png 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 691px) 100vw, 691px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16029" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The opening of Vinay&#8217;s article</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  1135. <p>A few key quotes from his opening are worth highlighting:</p>
  1136. <ul>
  1137. <li><em>I find myself in the totally unrelatable position of never having to work again.</em></li>
  1138. <li><em>I don&#8217;t have the same base desires driving me&#8230;</em></li>
  1139. <li><em>I&#8217;m not the most optimistic about life.</em></li>
  1140. <li><em>&#8230;I don&#8217;t currently have much conviction or purpose in life.</em></li>
  1141. </ul>
  1142. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>I give Vinay a lot of credit.&nbsp;</strong> He&#8217;s only written one blog post in his life, and it&#8217;s an amazing piece of work.&nbsp; It&#8217;s raw.&nbsp; Fully transparent, he admits his insecurities to the world.&nbsp; He&#8217;s brutally honest, even at the risk of being scorned by thousands on social media.&nbsp; I applaud this guy&#8217;s courage.</span></p>
  1143. <p>Sure, we can argue with some specifics in his article, but here is a guy searching for a purpose in life.</p>
  1144. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Aren&#8217;t we all?</strong></span></p>
  1145. <hr>
  1146. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>5 Lessons From Vinay</strong></span></p>
  1147. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As I thought about Vinay&#8217;s journey, I recognized a common thread with all of us who have experienced the transition into a life that no longer requires paid work.&nbsp; Here&#8217;s what I came up with, I welcome any additional lessons you discovered when you read his article (<em>I&#8217;ll see you in the comments</em>).</span></p>
  1148. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>1. Money Doesn&#8217;t Bring Happiness</strong></span></p>
  1149. <p>It&#8217;s been <a href="https://thehappinessindex.com/blog/can-money-make-you-happy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>widely reported</strong></a> that money over a certain level doesn&#8217;t lead to more happiness. A famous Princetown report found $75,000 to be the threshold, though others have argued the level is higher.&nbsp; Regardless, no one disagrees once a certain level of wealth is achieved, additional money doesn&#8217;t increase happiness.</p>
  1150. <p>Vinay is experiencing that reality, as have many others in the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/dq7kev/fire_happiness_1_year_into_fire_and_miserable/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>FIRE community</strong></a>. <strong>Achieving financial independence does not, in and of itself, lead to happiness.</strong>&nbsp; It&#8217;s how we use that money that matters. In Vinay&#8217;s words:</p>
  1151. <hr /><p><em>What is the point of money if it not for freedom? What is your most scarce resource if not time? </em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fi-am-rich-and-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-my-life%2F&#038;text=What%20is%20the%20point%20of%20money%20if%20it%20not%20for%20freedom%3F%20What%20is%20your%20most%20scarce%20resource%20if%20not%20time%3F%20&#038;related' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  1152. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Lesson For Us:</strong></span> It&#8217;s hard to decide when to retire, but it&#8217;s important to recognize that working longer for the additional money you don&#8217;t need won&#8217;t lead to ultimate happiness. Don&#8217;t get caught in the <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-one-more-year-syndrome/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>One More Year Syndrome</strong></a> for more than one year.</p>
  1153. <hr>
  1154. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>2. None of us Are Immune to The 4 Phases of Retirement</strong></span></p>
  1155. <p>Vinay is clearly struggling with the dreaded Phase II of <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Four Phases of Retirement</strong></a>.&nbsp; That&#8217;s to be expected, given that 85% of retirees struggle with the same feelings of &#8220;Lost &amp; Loss,&#8221; especially those who didn&#8217;t spend time considering the non-financial aspects of retirement before they quit working.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1156. <p>It&#8217;s easy to see how Vinay spent his time in Phase I, in his own words:</p>
  1157. <p><em>&#8220;I traveled to many beautiful places with my loving and supportive (ex) girlfriend. This 6-month stretch could be several essays on its own, but the outcome of this period is that nothing seemed right.&#8221;</em></p>
  1158. <p>And&#8230;the last part of that sentence highlights the reality that he&#8217;s now struggling with as he enters Phase II, <em>&#8220;nothing seemed right.&#8221;</em></p>
  1159. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Lesson For Us:</strong></span> Recognize the risk of falling into the dreaded Phase II, and study the lessons from the 15% of people who were fortunate to skip right over it.&nbsp; Bottom line: While you&#8217;re still working, spend time thinking about and planning for the non-financial aspects of life after paid work.</p>
  1160. <hr>
  1161. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>3. Experimentation Is the Path To Success</strong></span></p>
  1162. <p>The good news for Vinay is that he&#8217;s already taking the steps indicative of entering <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Phase III:&nbsp; Trial &amp; Error.</strong></a> His journey is fascinating, with several &#8220;experiments&#8221; described in his article:</p>
  1163. <ul>
  1164. <li>2 weeks exploring a robotics company</li>
  1165. <li>A month working with Elon Musk at DOGE</li>
  1166. <li>A trip to Hawaii to study physics</li>
  1167. </ul>
  1168. <p>His experiments are fascinating to read.&nbsp; It&#8217;s been proven that experimentation is the right path to finding your Purpose in life, and he&#8217;s doing it well.&nbsp; A few comments from his journey are worth highlighting:</p>
  1169. <p><strong>Robotics:</strong> <em>&#8220;At the end of the 2 weeks, I left feeling deflated and foolish. I didn’t want to start a robotics company.&#8221;</em></p>
  1170. <p><strong>DOGE / Elon Musk:</strong>&nbsp; Vinay was hired to work with Elon Musk at DOGE and worked with <em>&#8220;some of the smartest people I&#8217;ve ever met,&#8221;</em> then quit after 4 weeks because<em> I needed to get back to ambiguity, focus on my insecurities, and be ok with that for a while. DOGE wasn’t going to fix that.</em></p>
  1171. <p><strong>Hawaii / Physics:</strong>&nbsp; He traveled to Hawaii to study physics<em> to &#8220;build up my first principles foundation so I can start a company that manufactures real world things. It seems plausible, but I’m learning to just accept that I am happy learning physics. That’s the goal in and of itself. If it leads to nothing, that’s ok.&#8221;</em></p>
  1172. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Lesson For Us:</strong></span> If you find yourself stuck in Phase II, the proven path forward is to start experimenting.&nbsp; Find something that interests you and take that first step. Take on the attitude demonstrated by Vinay&#8217;s words, <em>&#8220;If it leads to nothing, that&#8217;s ok.&#8221;</em>&nbsp; Recognize that the important thing is to throw things against the wall.&nbsp; If it doesn&#8217;t stick, that&#8217;s ok.&nbsp; In time, you&#8217;ll find something that resonates.&nbsp; A piece of advice I&#8217;d give to Vinay (and you) is to look externally vs. internally as you experiment.&nbsp; Find a need in your community and think about how you can make a difference.&nbsp; I was encouraged by Justin&#8217;s advice in the tweet above: <em>&#8220;being of service to others always seems like a good thing and a meaningful use of time&#8230;&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</em>The theme was repeated in Humble Flow&#8217;s comment, <em>&#8220;If you don&#8217;t know what your mission is, start by helping people.&#8221;</em></p>
  1173. <hr>
  1174. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16051" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/shooting-star-2024127_640.png" alt="" width="640" height="402" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/shooting-star-2024127_640.png 640w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/shooting-star-2024127_640-300x188.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></p>
  1175. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>4. Finding Your North Star</strong></span></p>
  1176. <p>I&#8217;ve done a lot of research on the topic of achieving a successful retirement (I even <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-book/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>wrote a book</strong> </a>about it), and a consistent theme is the importance of finding a passion that aligns with the things that matter to you.&nbsp; Vinay calls it &#8220;feeling authentic,&#8221; and that&#8217;s a great way to describe it.&nbsp; Many of us recall times in our working years when we were pressured to do things that weren&#8217;t aligned with our core beliefs.&nbsp; That uncomfortable feeling of having to fire someone who you cared for. The irritation of having to deliver a message to a customer that you weren&#8217;t comfortable with.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1177. <p><strong>That stops in retirement.&nbsp;</strong></p>
  1178. <p>You now have a golden opportunity to do the things, and only the things, that matter to you.&nbsp; The things that you believe in.&nbsp; In my case, I love writing, so I write. My wife and I love dogs, so we build free fences through the charity my wife founded, <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/freedom-for-fido-a-story-of-finding-purpose-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Freedom For Fido</strong></a>.&nbsp; We&#8217;re helping others by doing the things we love and believe in, and it&#8217;s rewarding beyond words. We&#8217;ve achieved <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Phase 4</strong></a> in the retirement journey, and we&#8217;re loving life.&nbsp;</p>
  1179. <p>Vinay also recognizes the need for humility as you seek your path, as demonstrated by the following quote:&nbsp; <em>I’m applying a healthy dose of humility to everything I say and do. It’s the only thing that feels authentic.</em></p>
  1180. <p>He may be young, but he appears wise for his age. Finally, I applaud his determination, as illustrated by the final sentence of his article:</p>
  1181. <p><em>I don&#8217;t know. But I’m going to find out.</em></p>
  1182. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Lesson For Us:</strong></span></em> As you work through the experimentation of Phase 3, focus on areas that align with your inner being.&nbsp; Focus on finding a way to help others.&nbsp; Say &#8220;no&#8221; to the things that don&#8217;t feel right.&nbsp; &#8220;Finding your North Star&#8221; is a nebulous concept, but you know when something &#8220;feels right.&#8221;&nbsp; Focus your efforts in those areas.</p>
  1183. <p>It&#8217;s there where you&#8217;ll find the seeds for your journey.</p>
  1184. <hr>
  1185. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>5. Spirituality Matters</strong></span></p>
  1186. <p>As I read Vinay&#8217;s article, I couldn&#8217;t help but think that there is a spiritual element to his journey.&nbsp; Perhaps he doesn&#8217;t even realize it, but it seems clear from the following comment that Vinay has recognized his need to free himself from the earthly things that entangle us:&nbsp;</p>
  1187. <p><em>This whole chapter of Loom has created a complex web of internalized insecurities I must now work hard to disentangle and free myself from.</em></p>
  1188. <p>As a Christian, I believe we&#8217;re intentionally designed with a &#8220;God-shaped hole&#8221; in our hearts, and it&#8217;s only in filling that hole that we find true contentment and joy.&nbsp;&nbsp;An analogy I used in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/20-ways-to-be-happier-in-life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>20 Ways To Be Happier In Life</strong></a> (one of my most-read posts, ever) is that of a wheel, where each spoke in the wheel represents a different aspect of your life. Spirituality is a spoke in your wheel, and if you don&#8217;t invest in that spoke your wheel won&#8217;t roll well. It&#8217;s clear that Vinay was too focused on his &#8220;work spoke&#8221; during his tenure building Loom, as demonstrated by the following quote:</p>
  1189. <p><em>&#8220;When you work on something that <strong>consumes your life</strong> for a decade, it’s hard to let go of the certainty and purpose you’ve grown accustomed to.&#8221;</em></p>
  1190. <p>His journey to the Redwoods and scaling of (impressive) peaks in the Himalayas are indicative of his search for greater things.&nbsp; I consider them investments in his &#8220;Spiritual Spoke&#8221; and hope he includes thoughts of eternity and the things that really matter as he continues his journey.</p>
  1191. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Lesson For Us:</strong></span>&nbsp; Spirituality is often considered a &#8220;third rail&#8221; in our society, and not discussed as openly as it should be.&nbsp; If you&#8217;re offended by my including it in this list of lessons, perhaps it&#8217;s because it&#8217;s hitting close to home.&nbsp; All I ask is that you be brutally honest with yourself, and invest some time in your &#8220;Spiritual Spoke.&#8221;&nbsp; As long as you&#8217;ve taken the time to think about it, I&#8217;ll never judge.&nbsp; That&#8217;s not my place, and I recognize that.&nbsp; I think it&#8217;s important that I&#8217;m transparent with my beliefs, and I hope I&#8217;ve developed enough trust that you&#8217;ll allow me to do that.&nbsp; You do you, and I&#8217;ll do me. That said, if you&#8217;re struggling to find true joy and contentment in your life, I encourage you to read <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-five-types-of-wealth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Five Types of Wealth</strong></a>, with a focus on #5.</p>
  1192. <p>To find true contentment, invest in your Spiritual Spoke.</p>
  1193. <hr>
  1194. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  1195. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>&#8220;I Am Rich.&#8221;&nbsp;</strong></span></em></p>
  1196. <p>As unlikely as it seems, that&#8217;s a statement that all of us can make when viewed from a global perspective.&nbsp; We may not be as rich as Vinay, but the difference is one of scale, not substance.&nbsp; Recognizing that fact begs the following questions:</p>
  1197. <ul>
  1198. <li>What should we focus on after we&#8217;ve earned material wealth?&nbsp;</li>
  1199. <li>What should we do with our life?</li>
  1200. <li>In short, &#8220;What&#8217;s Next?&#8221;</li>
  1201. </ul>
  1202. <p>The most important things I took away from Vinay&#8217;s story are the following 5 lessons that apply to us all:</p>
  1203. <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>5 Lessons From Vinay:</strong></span></span></p>
  1204. <ol>
  1205. <li>Money Doesn&#8217;t Bring Happiness</li>
  1206. <li>None of us Are Immune to The Four Phases of Retirement</li>
  1207. <li>Experimentation is The Path To Success</li>
  1208. <li>Finding Your North Star</li>
  1209. <li>Spirituality Matters</li>
  1210. </ol>
  1211. <p>By applying the lessons from Vinay&#8217;s journey, I&#8217;m hopeful we&#8217;ll all find our answer to the question&#8230;&nbsp;</p>
  1212. <p>&#8230;What&#8217;s Next?</p>
  1213. <hr>
  1214. <p><em><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Your Turn:</strong></span></em>&nbsp; What lessons most resonated with you from Vinay&#8217;s story?&nbsp; What lessons did I miss?&nbsp; Is he simply a guy with too much money whining about his lot in life, or are there things we can learn from his journey that can help us improve our lives in retirement? Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  1215. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/i-am-rich-and-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-my-life/">I Am Rich And Have No Idea What To Do With My Life</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1216. ]]></content:encoded>
  1218. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/i-am-rich-and-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-my-life/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1219. <slash:comments>50</slash:comments>
  1222. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">15913</post-id> </item>
  1223. <item>
  1224. <title>5 Top Regrets of Retirees (and how to avoid them)</title>
  1225. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-top-regrets-of-retirees-and-how-to-avoid-them/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=5-top-regrets-of-retirees-and-how-to-avoid-them</link>
  1226. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-top-regrets-of-retirees-and-how-to-avoid-them/#comments</comments>
  1228. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  1229. <pubDate>Thu, 30 Jan 2025 09:27:37 +0000</pubDate>
  1230. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  1231. <category><![CDATA[carpe diem]]></category>
  1232. <category><![CDATA[contingency planning]]></category>
  1233. <category><![CDATA[financial planning]]></category>
  1234. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  1235. <category><![CDATA[worry]]></category>
  1236. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=15725</guid>
  1237.  
  1238. <description><![CDATA[<p>No one likes having regrets. And yet, we all have them.&#160; Regarding the regrets of retirees, a recent study reveals some interesting findings that we can all learn from.&#160; Studying [&#8230;]</p>
  1239. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-top-regrets-of-retirees-and-how-to-avoid-them/">5 Top Regrets of Retirees (and how to avoid them)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1240. ]]></description>
  1241. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>No one likes having regrets.</p>
  1242. <p>And yet, we all have them.&nbsp;</p>
  1243. <p>Regarding the regrets of retirees, a recent study reveals some interesting findings that we can all learn from.&nbsp; Studying the data can reduce our chances of suffering the same fate.</p>
  1244. <p>Today, I&#8217;m sharing some<strong> fascinating charts</strong> from the study that highlight the most common regrets of retirees.<em>&nbsp;</em></p>
  1245. <p>More importantly, I&#8217;m sharing some thoughts on steps you can take to avoid them.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1246. <p>Take action now to live a retirement without regrets.</p>
  1247. <p><strong>After all, you&#8217;ve earned it.</strong></p>
  1248. <hr /><p><em>The top regrets of retirees and suggestions to avoid the same fate. Here are the facts, supported by some great charts...</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2F5-top-regrets-of-retirees-and-how-to-avoid-them%2F&#038;text=The%20top%20regrets%20of%20retirees%20and%20suggestions%20to%20avoid%20the%20same%20fate.%20Here%20are%20the%20facts%2C%20supported%20by%20some%20great%20charts...&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  1249. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15970" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-21-1.58.31-PM.png" alt="what do people regret in retirement" width="489" height="660" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-21-1.58.31-PM.png 489w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-21-1.58.31-PM-222x300.png 222w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 489px) 100vw, 489px" /></p>
  1250. <hr>
  1251. <h1>5 Top Regrets of Retirees</h1>
  1252. <p>I enjoy studies that provide objective research into the lives of retirees, and the <a href="https://www.transamericainstitute.org/docs/research/retirees/retiree-life-post-pandemic-economy-survey-report-2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>24th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey</strong></a> is a good one.&nbsp; To compile the following list of top regrets of retirees, I studied all 77 pages of that study and conducted additional research about the top regrets of retirees.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve summarized the results in the list presented below.</p>
  1253. <p>In addition to listing the top regrets, I&#8217;m adding my thoughts on practical steps to avoid the same fate in our retirements.</p>
  1254. <p>With that, here are the top regrets of retirees:</p>
  1255. <hr>
  1256. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>1. Not Saving Enough</strong></span></p>
  1257. <p>The study included a lot of charts of the savings level of the average retiree.&nbsp; I love charts&#8230;</p>
  1258. <p>I found the following chart interesting.&nbsp; Excluding home equity, only 13% of retirees have $1 million or more saved.&nbsp; Shockingly, <strong>37% of retirees have $50k or less in savings.&nbsp;</strong> I suspect the typical reader of my blog is in better shape than the median savings level of $71k:&nbsp;</p>
  1259. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15942" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.01.46-AM-e1737043463248.png" alt="how much does the average retiree have in savings" width="750" height="368"></p>
  1260. <p>Given the savings data above, it&#8217;s no surprise that 30% of retirees are having trouble making ends meet:</p>
  1261. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15926" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.39.03-AM-e1737042110165.png" alt="" width="750" height="291"></p>
  1262. <p>The #1 top regret of retirees is not saving enough money, with <strong>76% wishing they had saved more consistently.&nbsp;</strong></p>
  1263. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15948" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.11.36-AM.png" alt="should I have saved more money" width="462" height="343" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.11.36-AM.png 462w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.11.36-AM-300x223.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.11.36-AM-80x60.png 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px" /></p>
  1264. <p>In addition, 68% of retirees wish they would have been more knowledgeable about retirement saving and investing, and 49% waited too long to concern themselves with saving for retirement.</p>
  1265. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>Steps To Avoid This Regret:</strong></em></span></p>
  1266. <p>The painful reality is that the best way to avoid this regret is to start saving early and consistently through your working years.&nbsp; Unfortunately, many people realize too late that they should have been saving more.&nbsp; If that&#8217;s you, take comfort in the fact that there is still hope.&nbsp; In my article <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/its-never-too-late-to-start-saving-for-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&#8220;It&#8217;s Never Too Late To Start Saving For Retirement,&#8221;</strong></a> I told the story of a couple that had nothing saved at age 49, yet retired at age 63.&nbsp; The key is to get very serious, very quickly.&nbsp; Cut expenses, increase savings, and consider taking a second job if necessary.</p>
  1267. <p>If you&#8217;re behind in your savings, I&#8217;d also encourage you to check out the <a href="https://catchinguptofi.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Catching Up To FI</strong> </a>podcast, which focuses on &#8220;financial independence for late starters.&#8221;&nbsp; Their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/693566492381832" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Facebook Group</strong></a> has over 16k members and is a supportive community.&nbsp; Bill and Jackie are the hosts, and they&#8217;re great folks (they&#8217;re also friends of mine, so tell them I said &#8220;hi&#8221; if you decide to join their group).&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1268. <hr>
  1269. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>2. Starting Social Security Too Early</strong></span></p>
  1270. <p>Given the low savings rate above, it&#8217;s not surprising that many retirees have to claim Social Security at the earliest possible date.&nbsp; As the chart below shows, the median age for claiming SS is 63, with 29% claiming at age 62:</p>
  1271. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15938" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.57.55-AM.png" alt="when do people start social security" width="462" height="344" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.57.55-AM.png 462w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.57.55-AM-300x223.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.57.55-AM-80x60.png 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px" /></p>
  1272. <p>Unfortunately, starting Social Security too early typically reduces the amount of Social Security income you&#8217;ll receive over your lifetime.&nbsp; As I wrote in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-determine-when-to-claim-social-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How To Determine When To Claim Social Security</strong></a>, there is a break-even age (typically in your mid-80s).&nbsp; If you live longer than the break-even age, your lifetime income will be higher if you defer claiming, as is typically recommended.&nbsp; Unless you have major health issues and expect to have a shortened lifespan as a result, delaying your SS is one of the best inflation hedges you can have later in life.</p>
  1273. <p>Social Security is one of the best tools in your toolbox to ensure your money outlives you.</p>
  1274. <p>And yet, the chart above demonstrates that only 19% of retirees wait until age 66 or later to claim SS.&nbsp; 58% of retirees cited SS as their primary source of income throughout their retirement, and it&#8217;s unfortunate that so many people sub-optimize this important piece of their retirement income puzzle.&nbsp;</p>
  1275. <p>At the same time, I empathize with the large percentage of folks who have no choice, as indicated by the fact that <strong>36% of retirees report incomes of $50k or less</strong>, and likely have no choice but to claim at their earliest possible date:</p>
  1276. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15940" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.59.54-AM.png" alt="how much money does the average retiree live on" width="667" height="388" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.59.54-AM.png 667w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.59.54-AM-300x175.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px" /></p>
  1277. <p>Finally, there is an issue with folks understanding their government benefits, as indicated in the following chart.&nbsp; Note that only 33% of retirees admit to having &#8220;a great deal&#8221; of understanding regarding Social Security (also concerning is the 30% who have a good understanding of Medicare &#8211; a topic I&#8217;m considering for a future post):</p>
  1278. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15947" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.09.14-AM-e1737043810472.png" alt="" width="750" height="392"></p>
  1279. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>Steps To Avoid This Regret:</strong></em></span></p>
  1280. <p>I encourage every retiree to understand the implications of their Social Security claiming decision.&nbsp; At a minimum, everyone should spend 15 minutes with <a href="https://opensocialsecurity.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Open Social Security Calculator</strong></a> to see what it recommends before making your decision.&nbsp; If you don&#8217;t have the financial resources to allow you to defer, at least you&#8217;ll have made an educated decision, which would go a long way to reduce your future regrets.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1281. <hr>
  1282. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>3. Retiring With Too Much Debt</strong></span></p>
  1283. <p>I was surprised by the following chart, which shows that <strong>half of retirees have non-mortgage debt</strong>:</p>
  1284. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15944" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.06.15-AM.png" alt="can I retire if I have debt" width="800" height="442" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.06.15-AM.png 800w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.06.15-AM-300x166.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.06.15-AM-768x424.png 768w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.06.15-AM-135x75.png 135w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.06.15-AM-270x150.png 270w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-11.06.15-AM-450x250.png 450w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></p>
  1285. <p>Fortunately, the median non-mortgage debt is &#8220;only&#8221; $5,000, but I found it surprising that <strong>19% of retirees have $25,000 or more </strong>in non-mortgage debt.&nbsp; While 60% of retirees have no mortgage, a surprising <strong>14% have mortgage debt of $100k or more.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong>When you add in the fact (from #2 above) that the median retiree income is $55k, it&#8217;s unsurprising that so many retirees regret struggling with debt.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1286. <p>As the following chart shows, 30% of retirees are prioritizing paying off credit card debt, and 29% are &#8220;just getting by&#8221; to cover basic living expenses:<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15936" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.56.03-AM.png" alt="top financial concerns of retirees" width="765" height="425" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.56.03-AM.png 765w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.56.03-AM-300x167.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.56.03-AM-135x75.png 135w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.56.03-AM-270x150.png 270w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.56.03-AM-585x325.png 585w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.56.03-AM-450x250.png 450w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 765px) 100vw, 765px" /></p>
  1287. <p>It saddens me that almost<strong> a third of retirees are &#8220;just getting by,&#8221;</strong> at a period in their lives where they should be focused on enjoying the freedom they&#8217;ve worked so long to obtain.&nbsp; While you may think you can wait until retirement to address your debt, the reality is that almost one in three retirees (32%) indicate current retirement expenses are more than expected.&nbsp; It won&#8217;t get easier with time.&nbsp; Deal with your debt.</p>
  1288. <p>Debt isn&#8217;t freedom.</p>
  1289. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>Steps To Avoid This Regret:</strong></em></span></p>
  1290. <p>If you&#8217;re within 10 years of retirement and continue to struggle with debt, it&#8217;s time to get serious.&nbsp; Cut up your credit cards (or put them in a bowl of water and place them in your freezer).&nbsp; It may be hard, but your future self will thank you.&nbsp; No one wants to deal with the anxiety that debt produces, especially once your paycheck stops.</p>
  1291. <p>And&#8230;as we&#8217;ll see below, your odds are greater than 50% that your paycheck will stop sooner than you expect.</p>
  1292. <p>If you&#8217;re in your final years of work, consider developing a side hustle that may become something you enjoy doing in retirement.&nbsp; In addition to helping you pay off some debt, you&#8217;ll get a jump start on developing other interests for your retirement years.&nbsp; &nbsp;If you&#8217;re retired and dealing with debt, consider taking on a part-time job, and dedicate every dollar earned to paying off your debt. Cut back on recurring expenses (<em>do you really need that Amazon Prime subscription when you&#8217;re already struggling with debt?)</em>, and track all of your spending for a few months to see what you can cut from your spending.&nbsp; Debt is a dangerous trap, learn from the regrets of retirees who have gone before you and make eliminating it a priority while you still can.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1293. <hr>
  1294. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>4. Retiring Too Soon</strong></span></p>
  1295. <p>The research is clear and consistent, over half of people are forced into retirement sooner than planned.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve written about this on numerous occasions, but it bears repeating.&nbsp; The Transamerica study confirms the fact, with their findings that <strong>58% of people retired sooner than planned:</strong></p>
  1296. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-15927 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.42.37-AM-e1737042243246.png" alt="what to do if you're forced into retirement" width="450" height="490"></p>
  1297. <p>While you may THINK you&#8217;ll be able to work until age 65 or later, the reality is that you have a greater than 50% chance of retiring sooner than you&#8217;d like.&nbsp; The survey found that <strong>59% retire before the age of 65,</strong> with the median retirement age being only 62 years.</p>
  1298. <p>None of us know the future, but it helps to study research to see what may lie ahead.&nbsp; You may be healthy and feel that your employment is secure, but note the following facts regarding WHY people retire earlier than planned:</p>
  1299. <ul>
  1300. <li><strong>46% personal health</strong></li>
  1301. <li><strong>43% employment-related</strong></li>
  1302. </ul>
  1303. <p>The chart below outlines some of the realities that others have faced.&nbsp; How certain can you be that you won&#8217;t face the same?&nbsp;</p>
  1304. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15928" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.47.00-AM.png" alt="the top reasons people retire early" width="429" height="410" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.47.00-AM.png 429w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-10.47.00-AM-300x287.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 429px) 100vw, 429px" /></p>
  1305. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>Steps To Avoid This Regret:</strong></em></span></p>
  1306. <p>If you&#8217;re planning on retiring in 5 years, ask yourself what will happen if you get forced into retirement next year. Don&#8217;t assume you&#8217;ll be able to hang on to your job until you&#8217;re age 65.&nbsp; Once you reach the age of 55, you need to get serious about your retirement preparation.&nbsp; Even if you&#8217;ve done a decent job up to this point, realize you probably don&#8217;t have as long as you think to save for retirement.</p>
  1307. <p>Increase your savings rate by 3% now.&nbsp; Automate it, and learn to live on the balance.&nbsp; Get aggressive in reducing your expenses to get by on a slightly smaller paycheck.&nbsp; If past trends continue, and there&#8217;s no reason to believe they won&#8217;t, you&#8217;ll probably retire sooner than you think.</p>
  1308. <p>Save more, now. Your future self will thank you.</p>
  1309. <hr>
  1310. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>5. Not Prioritizing Health</strong></span></p>
  1311. <p>A shocking two-thirds of Americans 65 and older &#8220;wish they’d taken their health more seriously when they were younger&#8221;, based on a poll presented in <a href="https://www.glowingolder.com/post/two-thirds-of-older-americans-regret-not-taking-care-of-their-health-earlier" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>this article</strong></a>.&nbsp; Also from that study:</p>
  1312. <ul>
  1313. <li>81% of Seniors admit their health could be better.</li>
  1314. <li>46% don&#8217;t have any goals in place for aging well.</li>
  1315. <li>21% ignore exercise advice from their doctor.</li>
  1316. <li>30% believe they would visit their doctor less frequently if they had taken better care of themselves.</li>
  1317. </ul>
  1318. <p>Let&#8217;s face it, retirement isn&#8217;t nearly as much fun if you don&#8217;t have the fitness level required to do the things you want to do. As the following chart shows, <strong>73% of retirees are concerned about health in older age</strong>.&nbsp;</p>
  1319. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15994" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-27-10.34.34-AM-e1737992192330.png" alt="how many people worry about their health" width="500" height="291"></p>
  1320. <p>It&#8217;s a valid concern, as we all realize there will come a day when we will face a decline.&nbsp; I face the same fear, and the impact of losing our health was made more &#8220;real&#8221; to me in the past month.&nbsp; A short story is in order:</p>
  1321. <p>A month ago, I suffered a severe sprain in my left ankle.&nbsp; I hobbled around for a few weeks and was forced to cut back on my normally active lifestyle.&nbsp; Last week, as I was finally close to being back to normal, I took a nasty fall on the ice while walking the dogs and blew out my right ankle.&nbsp; I&#8217;m back to hobbling.</p>
  1322. <p><strong>I hate it.</strong></p>
  1323. <p>While it&#8217;s a minor injury and will (hopefully) fully recover with time, I&#8217;ve experienced a month of limited mobility.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve decided to view it introspectively and think about the reality that a time will come when I won&#8217;t be able to do the things I enjoy doing.&nbsp; It&#8217;s made me appreciate my good health and rededicate my focus on doing everything I can to maintain my health.&nbsp; I exercise regularly (except for the last month, argh), I try to eat well, and I get 8 hours of sleep.&nbsp; I plan on continuing that focus for the rest of my life.</p>
  1324. <p>Learn from the regret of retirees ahead of you on their journey.&nbsp; You&#8217;ve talked about getting in better shape for years, but have you taken steps to implement an exercise program?&nbsp; Based on the research, 46% of retirees don&#8217;t have goals for how to age well.&nbsp; If you&#8217;re in that group, take action now.&nbsp;</p>
  1325. <p>Focus on your health, while you still can.</p>
  1326. <hr>
  1327. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  1328. <p>These past 6 1/2 years of retirement have been the best years of my life.</p>
  1329. <p>The same can be true for you.&nbsp; A great retirement doesn&#8217;t happen automatically, however.</p>
  1330. <p>Learn from the regrets of retirees ahead of you on the trail.&nbsp; Recognize the areas where you could be at risk of having future regrets, and take steps now to minimize that risk.</p>
  1331. <p>A bit of planning goes a long way.&nbsp; An effective plan is regularly reviewed, modified as appropriate, and followed.</p>
  1332. <p>Put your plan in place now, or modify your existing plan based on the experience of others.</p>
  1333. <p>Minimize your regrets.</p>
  1334. <p>Your future self will thank you.</p>
  1335. <hr>
  1336. <p><em><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong> </span></em>Do you have any regrets in retirement?&nbsp; What do you wish you&#8217;d have done differently?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  1337. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-top-regrets-of-retirees-and-how-to-avoid-them/">5 Top Regrets of Retirees (and how to avoid them)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1338. ]]></content:encoded>
  1340. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-top-regrets-of-retirees-and-how-to-avoid-them/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1341. <slash:comments>67</slash:comments>
  1344. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">15725</post-id> </item>
  1345. <item>
  1346. <title>What If Stocks Only Rise 3%?</title>
  1347. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-if-stocks-only-rise-3/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=what-if-stocks-only-rise-3</link>
  1348. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-if-stocks-only-rise-3/#comments</comments>
  1350. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  1351. <pubDate>Thu, 16 Jan 2025 09:25:45 +0000</pubDate>
  1352. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  1353. <category><![CDATA[contingency planning]]></category>
  1354. <category><![CDATA[Personal finance]]></category>
  1355. <category><![CDATA[retirement savings]]></category>
  1356. <category><![CDATA[worry]]></category>
  1357. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=15491</guid>
  1358.  
  1359. <description><![CDATA[<p>On January 1st we conducted our Annual Financial Review for our retirement portfolio.&#160; I&#8217;m smiling. Since I retired in June 2018, the S&#38;P 500 has had a nominal annualized return [&#8230;]</p>
  1360. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-if-stocks-only-rise-3/">What If Stocks Only Rise 3%?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1361. ]]></description>
  1362. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On January 1st we conducted our <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-step-by-step-guide-to-your-annual-financial-update/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Annual Financial Review</strong></a> for our retirement portfolio.&nbsp;</p>
  1363. <p><strong>I&#8217;m smiling.</strong></p>
  1364. <p>Since I retired in June 2018, the S&amp;P 500 has had a nominal annualized return (including dividends) of<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong> 14.62%!&nbsp;</strong></span> On an inflation-adjusted basis, it&#8217;s 10.73%.&nbsp; Our retirement appears to be solid, and our net worth is ahead of our projections.</p>
  1365. <p>Even with the smile, however, <strong>there&#8217;s always fear</strong> lurking around the corner:</p>
  1366. <ul>
  1367. <li>Market revert to the mean over time.</li>
  1368. <li>After years of above-average returns, the future <strong>will</strong> involve some corrections.</li>
  1369. <li>Bear markets are unavoidable, and we&#8217;ll likely face one in the next few years.</li>
  1370. <li>What if inflation continues to be a problem, increasing our spending?</li>
  1371. </ul>
  1372. <p>As if reading my mind, Goldman Sachs recently made a bearish forecast that raised many eyebrows. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">As quoted in <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/wave-goodbye-to-the-stock-market-s-historic-run-goldman-sachs-says-8731471" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>this article</strong></a> on Investopedia,</span>&nbsp;GS is projecting:</p>
  1373. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>&#8220;The S&amp;P 500 will return just 3% a year for the next decade and 1% after adjusting for inflation.&#8221;</strong></em></span></p>
  1374. <p>Scary stuff, indeed.&nbsp; Sure, it&#8217;s just another bank&#8217;s useless forecast, but what if they&#8217;re right? What if stocks only return 3% over the next decade?&nbsp; To further strengthen the point, it&#8217;s worth mentioning that Vanguard came out in December with a <a href="https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/vemo/vemo-return-forecasts.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>similar forecast</strong></a>, projecting a growth of 3-5% for US Equities over the next decade.</p>
  1375. <p>As early retirees, what should we do about it?&nbsp; Are there steps we should be taking, regardless of market conditions, which improve the odds of our money lasting longer than we do?</p>
  1376. <p>Today, I share my thoughts on &#8220;What if stocks only rise 3%?&#8221;&#8230;</p>
  1377. <hr /><p><em>What if stocks only return 3% over the next decade? As retirees, what should we do to prepare?</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fwhat-if-stocks-only-rise-3%2F&#038;text=What%20if%20stocks%20only%20return%203%25%20over%20the%20next%20decade%3F%20As%20retirees%2C%20what%20should%20we%20do%20to%20prepare%3F&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  1378. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15873" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-08-11.40.27-AM.png" alt="how to avoid a bear market" width="486" height="666" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-08-11.40.27-AM.png 486w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-08-11.40.27-AM-219x300.png 219w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 486px) 100vw, 486px" /></p>
  1379. <h1>What If Stocks Only Rise 3%</h1>
  1380. <p>For the record, I suspect Goldman Sachs and Vanguard are probably right.&nbsp; The surprising thing is, I&#8217;m not too worried about it.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1381. <p>They may be off by a percentage or two, but after the run we&#8217;ve had it&#8217;s realistic to expect future returns will be low.&nbsp; Reversion to the mean is legitimate, and we&#8217;d be naive to think the market will continue to return 15% for the next 6 years of our retirement.</p>
  1382. <p><strong>A long stretch of low returns certainly wouldn&#8217;t be unprecedented.</strong></p>
  1383. <p><strong>The S&amp;P 500 had a negative return of -0.72% during &#8220;The Lost Decade&#8221; of 2000 &#8211; 2009.</strong></p>
  1384. <p>I got that number from&nbsp;<a href="https://ofdollarsanddata.com/sp500-calculator/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>this handy calculator</strong></a>. I suspect many of you have already forgotten that decade, right? Looking at my <a href="https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2025/01/updating-my-favorite-performance-chart-for-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>favorite chart</strong></a> during the same timeframe (thanks, Ben Carlson), you won&#8217;t find &#8220;Large Cap&#8221; in any of the top 3 spots over the entire decade (in fact, you&#8217;ll only find it above the #6 spot once in the entire decade):</p>
  1385. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15863" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Screenshot-2025-01-08-10.39.20-AM.png" alt="" width="740" height="458" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Screenshot-2025-01-08-10.39.20-AM.png 740w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Screenshot-2025-01-08-10.39.20-AM-300x186.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
  1386. <p>We&#8217;re all susceptible to &#8220;Recency Bias&#8221;, a risk distortion due to a focus on recent performance.&nbsp; Using that same <a href="https://ofdollarsanddata.com/sp500-calculator/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>calculator</strong></a>, we can see that <strong>the S&amp;P 500 has returned 13.56% from 2015 &#8211; 2024</strong>, and Large Cap dominates the top segments of the related asset return table (thanks again, <a href="https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2025/01/updating-my-favorite-performance-chart-for-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Ben Carlson</strong></a>, for updating your great charts!):</p>
  1387. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15862" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Screenshot-2025-01-08-10.38.43-AM.png" alt="" width="740" height="458" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Screenshot-2025-01-08-10.38.43-AM.png 740w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Screenshot-2025-01-08-10.38.43-AM-300x186.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
  1388. <p><strong>What a difference a decade makes, right?</strong></p>
  1389. <p>So, let&#8217;s assume GS is right.&nbsp; Let&#8217;s ask ourselves, &#8220;What if stocks only rise 3%?&#8221; In effect, we&#8217;re saying that the 2000 &#8211; 2009 chart is more reflective of our future than the 2015 &#8211; 2024 chart.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1390. <p>Seems reasonable to me.&nbsp; I&#8217;m not all doom and gloom, I&#8217;m just a realist.&nbsp;</p>
  1391. <p><strong>Nothing goes up forever. </strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(Likewise, nothing stays down forever &#8211; remember that in the next bear market)</em></span></p>
  1392. <p>If you think a bit longer about reversion to the mean, it&#8217;s not all bad.&nbsp; Sure, it means the S&amp;P 500 likely has some downside as it resets after a decade of outperformance.&nbsp; It also means that those asset classes with sub-par performance are due for their time in the sun.</p>
  1393. <p>If only we could see the future, this portfolio management stuff would be a lot easier.</p>
  1394. <p><strong>So&#8230;.what to do?&nbsp;</strong> &nbsp;</p>
  1395. <p>Here are 5 things I&#8217;d encourage you to think about:</p>
  1396. <hr>
  1397. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15878" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/hand-4594071_1280-e1736355653437.png" alt="" width="750" height="348"></p>
  1398. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>5 Things To Always Remember (Especially Now)</strong></span></p>
  1399. <p>None of us know the future, and we never will.&nbsp; Regardless, we should always keep 5 principles of personal finance in mind.&nbsp; These are sound principles, regardless of what&#8217;s happening in the market.&nbsp; They&#8217;re particularly relevant now, with several years of above-average returns in the market.</p>
  1400. <hr>
  1401. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>1. The Power of Asset Diversification</strong></span></p>
  1402. <p>As we prepare our portfolios for retirement, we must diversify our assets to mitigate our risk. If you&#8217;re depending on your portfolio to fund your spending, what are you going to do when the next bear market hits?&nbsp; If you&#8217;re too heavily invested in stocks, you could be forced to sell stocks after a downturn, which exposes you to a<a href="https://www.usbank.com/retirement-planning/financial-perspectives/sequence-of-returns-risk-impact-when-to-retire.html#:~:text=Sequence%20of%20returns%20risk%20is%20the%20risk%20of%20negative%20market,and%20your%20lifetime%20income%20strategy." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> sequence of return risk.</strong></a></p>
  1403. <p>It&#8217;s critical to diversify your assets among a broader class of assets, including cash, bonds, and alternative assets (REITS, commodities, etc).&nbsp; A common asset allocation for retirees is 60% stocks / 40% Bonds &amp; Cash, though your asset allocation should be determined based on your specific needs and risk tolerance. For further detail, read <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/10-steps-to-prepare-your-finances-for-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>10 Steps To Prepare Your Finances For Retirement.</strong></a>&nbsp; As part of our annual financial review, we update our Asset Allocation, and you should, too. It&#8217;s an important element in managing your portfolio and a critical waypoint on your retirement map.</p>
  1404. <p>One way to think about your asset allocation is to consider the &#8220;Time Segmentation&#8221; approach, where you place assets in various classes based on when you&#8217;ll need to withdraw the funds.&nbsp; I discuss this in detail in my <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-retirement-paycheck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Bucket Strategy Series</strong></a>.&nbsp; For example:</p>
  1405. <ul>
  1406. <li>Cash:&nbsp; To cover the next 1-3 years of spending</li>
  1407. <li>Bonds: To cover years 4-7</li>
  1408. <li>Stocks:&nbsp; To cover spending beyond 7 years</li>
  1409. </ul>
  1410. <p>This oversimplified example can be complemented with smaller holdings in &#8220;Alternative&#8221; assets, such as Real Estate (REITS) and commodities. If stocks decline, you can draw down your cash or other asset classes (based on relative performance), mitigating your sequence of return risk.</p>
  1411. <p>Looking back at that table of returns from 2000 &#8211; 2009, a diversified approach would have given you some exposure in the asset classes that performed well during that timeframe (REITS, International Stocks, and Bonds), which could have been sold to fund your retirement expenses.</p>
  1412. <p>A final point about the bonds used in Bucket 2.&nbsp; As I wrote in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-bond-ladder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How To Build A Bond Ladder</strong></a>, <strong>I&#8217;ve been restructuring some of my bond holdings into a bond ladder,</strong> eliminating the interest rate risk that bond mutual funds are exposed to. We currently hold ~50% of our annual income needs in bonds with known maturities through 2030 (with one rung as far out as 2033), which reduces my anxiety about a below-average stock market over the next 8 years.&nbsp; Some of the &#8220;rungs&#8221; in the ladder are held in TIPS, (2028 iShares <a href="https://www.ishares.com/us/products/333132/ishares-ibonds-oct-2028-term-tips-etf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>IBIE</strong> </a>fund) which also reduces our inflation risk. This will allow us to draw down the cash in Bucket 1 as we approach bond maturities, knowing exactly how much (and when) our &#8220;replenishment&#8221; cash will be available from the bonds.&nbsp; If stocks continue to do well, we can easily &#8220;roll&#8221; the bond rungs out to future years and use stock sales for our cash replenishment.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1413. <p>Options are good, and diversification is how you create them.</p>
  1414. <hr>
  1415. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>2. Beware Home Market Bias</strong></span></p>
  1416. <p>We are all at risk of having a home bias, which works against our goals of maintaining a diversified portfolio.&nbsp; As <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/homebias.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>this article</strong></a> states &#8220;U.S. equities represent about 60% of the global market&#8230;but Americans invest 85% of their portfolios in domestic equities.&#8221;&nbsp; Not only should you be diversified among asset classes, but you should be diversified geographically.&nbsp; Many argue that many stocks in the S&amp;P500 are globally diversified, and they&#8217;re protected as a result.&nbsp;</p>
  1417. <p><strong>I prefer a more intentional approach</strong> and maintain specific holdings to meet my diversification goals.&nbsp; For example, I hold ~30% of my stock position in <a href="https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/mutual-funds/profile/vfsax" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>VFSAX</strong></a> (Global Small Value) and <a href="https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/mutual-funds/profile/vtiax" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>VTIAX</strong></a> (Global Large Cap).&nbsp; Holding my international exposure in standalone funds allows me to sell whichever fund outperforms as part of my rebalancing process, which would be difficult if my international exposure was only through an S&amp;P 500 fund.</p>
  1418. <p>Yes, international stocks have lagged domestic funds for years, but I&#8217;m ok with that.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve replenished my cash bucket through sales of the domestic funds (sell the winners) while maintaining my position (and targeted asset allocation percentage) in the international funds. That&#8217;s the whole point of a diversified portfolio.&nbsp; If &#8220;reversion to the mean&#8221; is a valid theory, one could expect international stocks may outperform domestic stocks at some point in the future, at which point I could sell the international funds for cash and maintain my domestic holdings.</p>
  1419. <p>As mentioned, Vanguard came out with a forecast consistent with GS, with a 3-5% range for US Equities.&nbsp; What I liked about <a href="https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/vemo/vemo-return-forecasts.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>their article</strong> </a>was the inclusion of the following table, which includes their forecast for other asset classes <em>(click on<a href="https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/vemo/vemo-return-forecasts.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> the link</strong></a> to see the entire table, including forecasts for bonds, commodities, and inflation &#8211; it was too large to include the entire table below).</em>&nbsp;</p>
  1420. <p>Their forecast suggests <strong>global returns could out</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><strong>perform domestic equities</strong> in the next decade:</span></p>
  1421. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15888" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-10-5.45.07-PM.png" alt="" width="660" height="517" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-10-5.45.07-PM.png 660w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-10-5.45.07-PM-300x235.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px" /></p>
  1422. <p>Forecasts are worthless, but it is reasonable to assume that international stocks could outperform domestic stocks at some point in the future, and having a fully diversified portfolio provides the opportunity to reap the rewards when and if that happens.</p>
  1423. <hr>
  1424. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>3. The Value of Rebalancing</strong></span></p>
  1425. <p>Having a diversified portfolio is the first step, but you must structure a regular rebalancing routine into your portfolio management process to reap the full benefits of a diversified portfolio.&nbsp; As you&#8217;re withdrawing funds from your portfolio to fund retirement spending, it&#8217;s essential to &#8220;Sell The Winners&#8221; to restock your cash needs.&nbsp; Have you sold any of your stocks after the last two years of above-average returns?&nbsp;<strong> If not, you&#8217;re doing it wrong.</strong> Rebalancing sells the winners automatically, as it &#8220;forces&#8221; you to sell assets when they exceed your targeted allocation %&#8217;s, and buy those that are below target.</p>
  1426. <p>In <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-manage-the-bucket-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How To Manage The Bucket Strategy,</strong></a> I shared the following chart from Michael Kitces which shows the value of regular rebalancing:</p>
  1427. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-9788" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Screenshot-2020-01-07-at-9.57.22-AM.png" alt="the importance of rebalancing your portfolio" width="565" height="342" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Screenshot-2020-01-07-at-9.57.22-AM.png 565w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Screenshot-2020-01-07-at-9.57.22-AM-300x182.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 565px) 100vw, 565px" /></p>
  1428. <p>As part of our Annual Financial Review, I update our Asset Allocation and compare it to our target allocation.&nbsp; Since we&#8217;ve spent down cash over the year, our cash allocation will be below target.&nbsp; To refill it, I look for whatever asset class exceeds its target, and liquidate sufficient funds to refill the cash bucket.&nbsp; This year, for example, I sold some of our S&amp;P 500 holdings and redirected the proceeds to our CapitalOne360 Money Market account.&nbsp; At the same time, I&#8217;ll analyze the number of years I have in each &#8220;Bucket&#8221; and rebalance accordingly.&nbsp;</p>
  1429. <p><strong>I&#8217;ve noticed an interesting phenomenon since retiring that&#8217;s worth noting.</strong> This one takes some explaining, so stick with me. Remember my goal is to hold 3 years of cash in Bucket 1 and 4-7 years of bonds in&nbsp; Bucket 2.&nbsp; Everything else is Bucket 3, which we&#8217;ll call equities for simplicity. When the market returns more than your SWR, and you maintain a constant value in Buckets 1 and 2, the growth (by default) occurs in Bucket 3 (stocks).&nbsp; If your goal is to maintain 3 years of cash and 5 years of bonds, <strong>your asset allocation of stocks gradually increases</strong> as your overall portfolio grows.&nbsp; Kitces refers to increased exposure to equities throughout retirement as a <a href="https://www.kitces.com/blog/should-equity-exposure-decrease-in-retirement-or-is-a-rising-equity-glidepath-actually-better/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>rising glide path</strong></a> and states that a &#8220;rising equity glide path actually <strong><em>does&nbsp;</em>improve retirement outcomes!&#8221;</strong>&nbsp; Without being aware of it, my bucket strategy has resulted in exactly this outcome, and I consider it an unexpected bonus of the bucket strategy. My focus is on maintaining (and rebalancing to) the &#8220;years of spending&#8221; targets in Bucket 1 and 2, and I expect our stock allocation will continue to increase whenever the market exceeds our 3.25% SWR. From a risk perspective, I&#8217;m comfortable with the higher asset allocation to stocks since I know I have 8 years of spending covered in the &#8220;safer assets&#8221; in Buckets 1 and 2.</p>
  1430. <p>Interesting, and worth a mention.&nbsp; I welcome your thoughts on the phenomenon in the comments.</p>
  1431. <hr>
  1432. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>4. The Need For A Flexible Spending Plan</strong></span></p>
  1433. <p>What if stocks only rise 3% and we&#8217;re withdrawing 4%?&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1434. <p><strong>Two points to make:&nbsp;</strong></p>
  1435. <p>1) Even if stocks only rise 3%, there&#8217;s a chance our other asset classes will deliver more than our Safe Withdrawal Rate, so we may not lose much ground.&nbsp;</p>
  1436. <p>2) We&#8217;ve built a flexible spending plan into our retirement strategy to mitigate the risk of lower-than-expected returns.</p>
  1437. <p>Every year during our annual review, I update our Net Worth and calculate our new Safe Withdrawal Rate boundaries (3%, 3.25%, 3.5%, and 4% of our 12/31 spendable assets).&nbsp; If the entire market tanks, we can increase our SWR from its current level of 3.25% to 4% to offset some of the impact.&nbsp; If the market has declined to the point that it requires a smaller &#8220;paycheck&#8221; the following year, we&#8217;re fine with that.</p>
  1438. <p>As we were planning for retirement, we made sure that our spending estimates included some &#8220;wants&#8221; in addition to &#8220;needs.&#8221;&nbsp; Worse case, we can forgo some of the &#8220;wants&#8221; for a few years.</p>
  1439. <p>As I mentioned in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-much-can-you-safely-spend-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How Much Can You Safely Spend in Retirement</strong></a>, having a flexible spending plan based on the prior year&#8217;s market performance greatly <strong>increases the odds that your money will last throughout your retirement.&nbsp;</strong> Considering that it&#8217;s human nature to cut back when the markets are performing poorly, it seems reasonable that we can reduce spending as a last resort if Goldman Sachs ends up being correct with their forecast.</p>
  1440. <hr>
  1441. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>5. Don&#8217;t Panic</strong></span></p>
  1442. <p>I sincerely doubt a forecast from Goldman Sachs will make any of you panic.&nbsp; I can&#8217;t say the same about your reaction to a bear market.&nbsp; As the following chart shows, we&#8217;ve had two downturns since I retired in 2018:</p>
  1443. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15890" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-11-10.20.19-AM-e1736608924435.png" alt="" width="750" height="305"></p>
  1444. <p>Both times, the tone of the comments I received on this blog <strong>changed dramatically.</strong></p>
  1445. <p>Interest in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-retirement-paycheck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Bucket Strategy</strong></a> always skyrockets after a downturn.&nbsp; Folks get nervous and worry that the bear market will impact their retirement.&nbsp; It shouldn&#8217;t be that way.</p>
  1446. <p>As you&#8217;re preparing for retirement, you MUST build a plan that will endure market downturns.&nbsp; There WILL be bear&nbsp;<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">market<strong>s</strong></span> during your retirement, and we shouldn&#8217;t be surprised when they occur.&nbsp; My strategy is to hold 3 years of cash and 4+ years of bonds and includes an allowance to draw those balances down if the market underperforms (to avoid selling stocks after a downturn).&nbsp; I&#8217;ve taken it a step further and built a bond ladder to reduce my risk over the next 7 years. I didn&#8217;t even blink during the two downturns of my retirement, and I won&#8217;t blink at the next one.&nbsp; That&#8217;s exactly why I stated earlier:</p>
  1447. <p><em>I suspect Goldman Sachs and Vanguard are probably right.&nbsp; The surprising thing is, I&#8217;m not too worried about it.&nbsp;&nbsp;</em></p>
  1448. <p><strong>Here are a few warning signs</strong> for you to consider. :</p>
  1449. <ul>
  1450. <li>Have you held onto all of your stocks (no rebalancing) over the past 12 months?</li>
  1451. <li>Did you get nervous during the market downturns of 2020 and 2022?</li>
  1452. <li>Did you question the way you&#8217;re funding your spending during those downturns?</li>
  1453. </ul>
  1454. <p><strong>If you answer &#8220;yes&#8221;</strong> to any of the questions above, it&#8217;s time to revisit your plan.&nbsp; Take action now, while the market is still strong and you have an opportunity to prepare for the next storm.&nbsp; Remember, you should be happy right now &#8211; the market has just experienced two of the strongest years in our lifetime.&nbsp; Lock in some of the gains, and prepare for the likely reversion to the mean.&nbsp; It&#8217;s all part of the game.</p>
  1455. <p>What if stocks only rise 3% over the next decade?&nbsp; Even if GS is wrong, the markets<strong> will</strong> experience a downturn at some point in the next 10 years. Since 1929, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=how+often+do+bear+markets+occur&amp;rlz=1CAZZYC_enUS1043US1043&amp;oq=how+often+do+bear+markets+occur&amp;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCQgAEEUYORiABDIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMg0IAxAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IBBAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMgoIBRAAGIAEGKIEMgcIBhAAGO8FMgcIBxAAGO8F0gEINTQ3MmowajeoAgCwAgA&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>bear markets have occurred</strong></a> on average every 4.8 to 5.7 years and last about 9.6 months.&nbsp; It&#8217;s the nature of the beast, and we have to learn to live with it.</p>
  1456. <p>The sun has been shining, but there&#8217;s rain in the forecast.</p>
  1457. <p>Do you have your umbrella ready?</p>
  1458. <hr>
  1459. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  1460. <p>Markets go up, and markets go down.</p>
  1461. <p>It&#8217;s our job to prepare a strategy that allows us to enjoy our retirement regardless of what the market is doing. While I don&#8217;t pay any attention to forecasts, it is a valid question to ask what you&#8217;ll do if GS and Vanguard are right.&nbsp;</p>
  1462. <p><strong>What if stocks only rise 3%?&nbsp; </strong></p>
  1463. <p>For fun, I put the question on <a href="https://x.com/RetireManifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>my X account</strong></a> and promised to post my favorite response in this article.&nbsp; Congratulations<strong><a href="https://x.com/lifeaftersales" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> lifeaftersales</a></strong>, you win with the following response.&nbsp; The final two points of your Tweet are great reminders of what matters, though I&#8217;d also add Spirituality to the list (<em>I also loved that you touched on knowing how much you spend, being conservative, building a bond ladder, and rebalancing &#8211; all topics I touched on in this post.&nbsp; You&#8217;re a mind-reader!):</em></p>
  1464. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15897" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-12-9.13.04-AM.png" alt="" width="548" height="199" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-12-9.13.04-AM.png 548w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-12-9.13.04-AM-300x109.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 548px) 100vw, 548px" /></p>
  1465. <p>If you&#8217;ve done your homework and have a plan in place, your response should be the same as lifeaftersales, which was consistent with what I wrote earlier in this post&#8230;</p>
  1466. <p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not too worried about it.&#8221;</p>
  1467. <p>What about you?</p>
  1468. <hr>
  1469. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></span> Ok, no bashing forecasts.&nbsp; I consider them useless, but thought the GS forecast was a good jumping-off point to discuss the realities of market volatility, and how we should build our plans accordingly. What are you doing to protect against the next downturn?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat&#8230;</p>
  1470. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-if-stocks-only-rise-3/">What If Stocks Only Rise 3%?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
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