Strengthen and secure your retirement years with these 10 strategic financial considerations
For our What’s Up? magazine readers that are approaching retirement and/or living it out currently, we’ve compiled ten strategic financial moves to consider as part of your retirement readiness checklist. As always, we advise you to seek professional guidance when solidifying your financial plans—the following considerations offer a baseline from which to build your strategy.
1. Reevaluate Your Investment Risk Profile. The investment strategy that fueled portfolio growth during your earning years may deserve a fresh look as retirement approaches. While maintaining exposure to growth assets remains important, many retirees benefit from reviewing how much risk they are assuming relative to their income needs and long-term goals. A disciplined approach to diversification can help balance growth opportunities with capital preservation.
2. Develop a Tax-Efficient Withdrawal Strategy. Retirement often means drawing income distributions from multiple sources, including taxable brokerage accounts, traditional IRAs, Roth accounts, pensions, and Social Security. The order in which assets are withdrawn can significantly affect tax liability over time. Coordinating withdrawals strategically may help reduce taxes and potentially extend the longevity of retirement assets.
3. Stress-Test Your Retirement Income Plan. Even well-funded retirement plans should be evaluated against a variety of scenarios, including market volatility, inflation, rising healthcare costs, and longer-than-expected life expectancy. Periodically reviewing how your plan performs under different conditions can help identify vulnerabilities and provide opportunities for adjustment before problems arise.
4. Update Your Estate and Legacy Planning Documents. A comprehensive estate plan should evolve alongside your family circumstances and financial situation. Review your will, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary designations to ensure they remain aligned with your wishes. Changes in family relationships, asset values, or applicable laws may warrant updates.
5. Consider Whether Trust Planning Still Fits Your Goals. Trusts can serve a variety of purposes, including probate avoidance, privacy protection, charitable giving, and asset management for future generations. As retirement approaches, it may be worthwhile to revisit existing trust structures or explore whether additional planning tools could help achieve evolving financial and family objectives.
6. Evaluate Your Long-Term Housing Strategy. Where and how you live can have a meaningful impact on both lifestyle and finances. Some retirees choose to downsize and unlock home equity, while others invest in modifications that support aging in place. Still others relocate closer to family, healthcare resources, or tax-friendly jurisdictions. The best decision is often the one made proactively rather than reactively.
7. Plan for Healthcare and Long-Term Care Costs. Healthcare expenses represent one of the largest financial variables in retirement. Beyond Medicare coverage, consider how you would address extended care needs, whether through dedicated savings, insurance solutions, hybrid policies, or other funding strategies. Early planning may expand available options and reduce future financial strain.
8. Explore Opportunities for Strategic Giving. Retirement can be an ideal time to align financial resources with personal values. Charitable giving strategies, donor-advised funds, qualified charitable distributions, and family philanthropy discussions can help support meaningful causes while potentially creating tax advantages. Thoughtful giving can become an important component of a broader legacy plan.
9. Strengthen Your Defenses Against Financial Fraud. Fraud schemes targeting older adults continue to grow in sophistication. Scammers increasingly impersonate financial institutions, government agencies, technology companies, and even family members. Establish safeguards such as account alerts, trusted contacts, secure password management, and regular financial monitoring. A few preventive measures can significantly reduce exposure to fraud.
10. Coordinate Your Team of Advisors. Retirement planning often involves complex decisions spanning investments, taxes, estate planning, insurance, and healthcare. Bringing together your financial advisor, tax professional, attorney, and other trusted specialists can help ensure strategies work together cohesively rather than in isolation. Effective coordination may uncover opportunities and help avoid costly oversights.
Estate Planning Documents You Should Have
1. Last Will and Testament. A will outlines how your assets should be distributed after your death and names an executor responsible for carrying out your wishes. Without a valid will, state law determines how your estate is distributed, which may not reflect your intentions.
2. Revocable Living Trust (When Appropriate). A revocable living trust can help avoid probate, provide greater privacy, and allow for smoother management of assets in the event of incapacity. It can be particularly useful for individuals with more complex estates or multi-state property holdings.
3. Durable Financial Power of Attorney. This document designates a trusted individual to manage your financial affairs if you become unable to do so. It can cover tasks such as paying bills, managing investments, and handling real estate or tax matters.
4. Healthcare Power of Attorney. Also known as a medical proxy, this document appoints someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you are unable to communicate your wishes. Choosing someone who understands your values is essential.
5. Advance Healthcare Directive (Living Will). This document outlines your preferences for medical treatment in situations where you are unable to express informed consent. It may address life-sustaining treatments, resuscitation preferences, and end-of-life care.
6. Updated Beneficiary Designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and certain financial assets pass directly to named beneficiaries. These designations should be reviewed periodically to ensure they align with your current estate plan and family circumstances.
7. Organized Record of Financial and Legal Information. While not a formal legal document, a secure and accessible record of accounts, policies, passwords, advisors, and key contacts can significantly ease administrative burdens for loved ones during a difficult time.
5 Financial Scams To Be Aware Of
1. Government Impersonation Scams. Fraudsters pose as representatives from the IRS, Social Security Administration, Medicare, or other government agencies. They may claim you owe money, your benefits are at risk, or your account has been compromised. Legitimate government agencies generally do not demand immediate payment, threaten arrest, or request gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.
2. Tech Support Scams. A pop-up message, email, text, or unexpected phone call claims your computer, smartphone, or online account has been hacked. The scammer then attempts to gain remote access to your device or convince you to pay for unnecessary services. Never grant computer access to an unsolicited caller, and contact technology providers directly through official channels if you have concerns.
3. Investment and “Guaranteed Return” Schemes. Promises of unusually high returns with little or no risk are a classic warning sign. Fraudulent investments often involve real estate ventures, cryptocurrency opportunities, precious metals, private lending arrangements, or exclusive insider opportunities. If an investment sounds too good to be true, it deserves careful scrutiny.
4. Grandparent and Family Emergency Scams. Scammers impersonate grandchildren, relatives, or even attorneys claiming a loved one is facing an emergency and needs money immediately. The caller may urge secrecy and pressure you to act before verifying the story. Always contact the family member directly or confirm the situation through another trusted relative before sending funds.
5. Romance and Relationship Scams. These scams often begin through social media, dating websites, or online communities. After building trust over weeks or months, the scammer invents a financial crisis, business opportunity, or travel problem and requests money. Requests for financial assistance from someone you have never met in person should be treated with extreme caution.
PLUS, 3 Red Flags That Apply to Almost Every Scam: Pressure to act immediately, Requests for secrecy, Unusual payment methods (gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or peer-to-peer payment apps).
