Today’s Objective…

These five questions are quite common. They’re deceptively simple, and depending on your situation, they can be quite complex to answer. Beyond a simple “yes” or “no” answer, let’s hear what Dan has to say about these important retirement questions.

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5 Simple Retirement Questions (That Are Hard to Answer)

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(Click the featured times below to jump forward in the episode)

Tactical Points:

[2:29] – When to Take Social Security?

Social security is impacted by so many other decisions you make.
If you’re working and haven’t reached full retirement age you may have to pay a lot of it back in taxes.
Meet with somebody and make some calls in to the Social security office to find out what’s right for you.
This will depend on your unique situation.

[4:24] – How to Design a Truly Diversified Portfolio?

There’s a difference between being diversified and having a lot of stuff.
Sometimes accounts are redundant.
Real diversification is based on sound evidence-based economic theory.
There are 19 distinct asset categories, and you want your portfolio to have all of those.

[5:50] – What to Invest in 401(k) Funds?

Dan shares about client examples of 401(k) funds.
There are limited choices to make it easy on the company.
All of it should be analyzed and followed.

[7:13] – 401(k) Rollovers

In the majority of cases it makes sense to do a 401(k) rollover.
Dan tells the story of a client who proved to be an exception and needed to take out a loan.
Generally, you can lower your costs and increase your investment choices in a self-directed IRA.

[8:50] – Planning for Nursing Home Care

Statistically speaking, we’re more likely to end up in a nursing home than not.
When you’re younger, you risk passing away and leaving your household in financial disarray. When you’re older, you risk needing a nursing home and/or long-term care.
There’s a lot of confusion around this as it relates to Medicare.
Dan shares an example from his own family about making a decision regarding care.

[11:56] – Mailbag: Retiring Early

Jeff wants to retire in five years when he turns 55. Is that a bad idea?
It depends on your financial and emotional readiness.
You will want a plan to stay active in retirement without work.
Understand, you could be retired for more than 30 years. You need a solid budget.
Do some serious planning and meet with someone to outline potential risks.
There’s a Monte Carlo analysis that can give you the probability of when you’ll run out of money.

[14:43] – Mind Over Money: Beliefs

We can change our belief if we realize they’re simply viewpoints on an issue.
A lot of these financial beliefs are used for self-sabotage.
Dan shares the story of someone who couldn’t afford to buy something but planned to do it anyway.
Consider how you think about money and whether or not it is helpful.