The reward for decades of hard work and success is… complexity. By your 50s, your financial life is likely a dynamic mix of investments, insurance, and business interests. Now may be the time to bring everything together into a cohesive plan that works toward the future you envision.
But even with a clear destination in mind, it’s natural to wonder if all the moving parts are truly in sync, or if there are blind spots that need to be addressed.
What You Might Be Overlooking
These blind spots often appear in areas where the old rules no longer apply. Here are a few we find are commonly overlooked:
- Risk: The risk profile that helped you build your wealth may not be the one to preserve it. Many find themselves either over-concentrated in the asset that created their success (company stock, a business, real estate) or so concerned about preservation that they hold too much cash, letting inflation silently erode their purchasing power. This decade is about finding the right balance for the long term.
- Catch-Up Contributions: Standard advice often points to IRA and 401(k) catch-up contributions. While valuable, this is only the first step. The opportunity lies in optimizing your savings power. Are you making the most of your executive compensation, such as stock options or deferred comp plans? If you’re a business owner, have you explored specialized plans that may allow you to save significantly more on a tax-deferred basis?
- Retirement Number: Will your retirement number generate the sustainable, reliable cash flow you need for the lifestyle you want? A solid plan involves stress-testing that number against variables like living to 90, rising healthcare costs, and the risk of a market downturn just as you begin retirement.
- Estate Plan: You likely have a will, but was it created when your financial picture was much simpler? Tax laws change, families evolve, and your wealth grows. An outdated plan can lead to inefficiency and may not reflect your true intentions.
Addressing the Risks
These two foundational steps may help overcome any blind spots:
- Take a Financial Inventory: Get a true picture of where everything is and what it’s doing. Consolidate all of your accounts, including investments, trusts, insurance, retirement plans, to see the entire landscape in one place. Doing so gives you the “what.”
- Draft a Blueprint: Set the numbers aside and ask some bigger questions: What does a truly fulfilling life look like for you and your family? What experiences do you want to have? What impact or legacy do you want to leave behind? This becomes the “why” that should drive every financial decision.
The real work of planning with our method begins when you overlay that life blueprint onto your financial inventory. This is where you can clearly see how to align your resources with your values, working to align your wealth with the life you want to live.
Define Your Priorities
This process of connecting money and meaning is the very heart of a our funancial planning process. At SignatureFD, we anchor this process in four key areas we call GPGL:
- Grow the impact of your money
- Protect all you’ve worked for
- Give where it matters most
- Live the life you want
Understanding which of these areas are most important to you right now can be the key to activating your wealth. Our 5-minute GPGL quiz is designed to help you discover your unique financial priorities and take the next step with confidence. If you’d prefer to speak directly with an advisor, contact us to learn more.
