Five Star award winner Kenneth J. Como

Are You Emotionally & Financially Ready to Retire?

Retirement can mean a lot of different things to different people. Some people might look at retirement as a certain age when someone stops working while others might look at it as a monetary amount they have achieved. Some people might envision retirement as a time to travel and see the world while others might see retirement as a time to stay home and be close to family.

Whatever your idea of retirement might be, it is important to ensure that you are emotionally—and financially—ready for this next stage of life. This can be a complicated topic, and with the changing times we are living in, it is even more important to seriously evaluate or reevaluate your retirement goals, thoughts, and feelings. To help you figure out if you are ready for retirement, here are a few questions and considerations to keep in mind:

What does your retirement look like?
When trying to plan for retirement, it is important to think through what retirement means to you. Envisioning your personal goals for retirement can help you pinpoint if and when it will be the best time to retire. For example, if one goal is to help care for grandchildren at retirement, consider timing retirement to when your help would be needed most—are grandchildren already on the way, or perhaps not expected for another 5 years? Or, if a goal is to see the world or purchase a second home, there will be expenses you need to plan for now. Evaluating those goals against your overall financial situation will help ensure that you are financially prepared before exiting the workforce.

Are you financially ready to retire?
The thought of finances is one of the first things that comes to mind for many when the topic of retirement is brought up, and rightfully so. Ensuring you are financially prepared to live the lifestyle you want is key to having an enjoyable retirement. Retirement should not be spent worrying about finances, which is why we recommend consulting with an experienced financial advisor ahead of time to make sure you are on track to meet your goals. Your financial advisor will help you understand the variables of retirement planning including assets, retirement income, tax rate and most importantly, life expectancy.

What are your options?
Many times, the topic of retirement might be thought of as a time when someone stops working completely; however, there are many different options that should be taken into consideration. For example, if you are planning to transition from working full time to not working at all you may wonder how you will utilize your new free time or how you will deal with not interacting with people on a daily basis at work. Perhaps one consideration would be to transition to part-time work, instead. Another option would be to review your hobbies to see if there is an opportunity to optimize a hobby into a second career, whether part time or full time, during retirement.

After reading through the above questions and considerations, do you have a better idea of what your retirement might mean for you and when you might be ready? It can take some time to think through, so do not get discouraged if you are still unsure. This information can, at the very least, help to guide your thought process so you can make an educated decision when the time is right.

There is a lot to consider when putting together a retirement plan, and at Bill Few Associates, our financial advisors have the experience and knowledge to help. If you have questions about retiring or your overall financial plan, call me today at 412-630-6000.

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This award was issued on 6/1/22 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 09/27/2021 through 03/25/2022. Fee paid for use of marketing materials. Self-completed questionnaire was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria. 1779 Pittsburgh-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 252 (14% of candidates) were named 2022 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2021: 1814, 234, 13%, 6/1/21, 9/7/20 - 4/23/21; 2020: 1886, 224, 12%, 6/1/20, 9/16/19 - 4/10/20; 2019: 1667, 251, 15%, 6/1/19, 9/17/18 - 4/12/19; 2018: 1653, 227, 14%, 6/1/18, 9/28/17 - 4/17/18; 2017: 1133, 277, 24%, 6/1/17, 9/27/16 - 4/11/17; 2016: 1064, 423, 40%, 5/1/16, 10/7/15 - 4/19/16; 2015: 1494, 442, 30%, 6/1/15, 10/7/14 - 4/19/15; 2014: 1721, 458, 27%, 6/1/14, 10/7/13 - 4/19/14; 2013: 1777, 545, 31%, 6/1/13, 10/7/12 - 4/19/13; 2012: 1863, 493, 26%, 6/1/12, 10/7/11 - 4/19/12.

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Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. The award is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria-required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser (RIA) or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Actively licensed as a RIA or as a principal of a registered investment adviser firm for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined by FSP, the wealth manager has not; A. Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints filed against them and/or a total of five settled, pending, dismissed or denied complaints with any regulatory authority or FSP's consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through FSP's consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client's experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy within the past 11 years; E. Been terminated from a financial services firm within the past 11 years; F. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria-considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations. FSP does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The award is not indicative of the wealth manager's future performance . Wealth Managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients' assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by FSP or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by FSP in the future. Visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.