In my last article, What I Wish Every Prospect Had Considered Before Asking ‘Can I Retire’?, I discussed three broad points that most investors need to ask relative to the common retirement question all advisors get from time to time. In this follow-up article, I want to review the major retirement planning process details most investors don’t think about.
Planning Process # 1: Retirement Planning Experts Are Not Fortune Tellers
There’s no financial advisor with a “magic potion” that can tell an investor that they’re exactly where they need to be, without the investor having actually saved enough money over the years and investing it with some level of risk exposure.
Sometimes I get the feeling that investors think advisors are like fortune tellers. But a retirement planning expert focuses on managing wealth and future wealth risk mitigation. They deal with all the possible variables of future issues and risks, and prudently plan or advise an investor based on the specific facts at hand.
If the facts of the investor’s situation are poor to start with, meaning they haven’t saved enough or they poorly invested the money over the years, then the retirement planning process isn’t going to magically turn things into a lottery winning situation. However, it may provide meaningful recommendations that can help investors achieve their goals.
Planning Process #2: Is a Retirement/Financial Plan Perfect?
Plans are just that. For example, say I planned to play golf this weekend on Saturday, with enough time to also watch the Alabama football game after my round. Then, assume by Friday, it’s projected to rain on Saturday or I get behind a group that’s really slow on the golf course.