We all want to leave a legacy to those we love, but leaving a legacy doesn’t mean simply making a will. To create a lasting financial and nonfinancial legacy you need to have a strategy that you can rely on. Today you’ll learn the steps to take to create a lasting legacy.

Leaving a legacy is different from estate planning

Often times we read about a hot investment or retirement planning tip in an article or hear some equally savory advice in a podcast and we jump to take action on it rather than thinking about how it could fit into our overall plan. I call this letting the tail wag the dog. 

Instead of letting the tail wag the dog, think about your actions first. Stop for a moment and think about how that new shiny idea or product would fit into your overall retirement plan. When you have a goal-based plan in place, it allows you to think through decisions in an organized way. You’ll want to use similar methods to build a plan to create the most impactful legacy that you can.

How to begin creating your legacy plan

There are a couple of steps you can take to begin creating a strategy that will allow you to develop a lasting legacy. 

The first step is to consider what you can afford to do. You can do this by determining how much excess capital you have. This can be a tricky number since there are so many unknowns to consider. These unknowns make it hard to determine how much you will have at the end of your life. 

Consider what is feasible considering your resources and your projected spending. You can gain a better understanding by using a plan of record. If you have never used a plan of record, keep your eyes open for this week’s 6-Shot Saturday newsletter to get a free template. If you aren’t signed up for the newsletter, head on over to RogerWhitney.com to fill out the form and subscribe. 

What are your legacy goals?

Now that you have determined what is feasible given your life vision and resources you can move on to step 2. Consider what kind of financial and nonfinancial impact you want to have. What do you want to accomplish?

Do you want to be able to contribute to your children’s retirement savings? Or maybe you want to help them buy their first home. 

Do you want to create a nonfinancial impact by developing the tradition of having a weekly family dinner? Do you plan on being an exemplar and coaching them through tough choices?

Create intentionality with your legacy strategy by framing it in financial and nonfinancial ways and considering the impact you want to have during and after your life. 

After these first two steps, you can begin to create your strategy. You’ll want to think about maintaining flexibility with your strategy since markets won’t always cooperate with your plans. Your legacy should be built with discretionary money. The tactics will come easy if you focus on creating a strategy first. Listen in to hear how to build your lasting legacy. 

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT

• [2:43] Doctors don’t want you to engage and ask questions
• [8:00] Leaving a legacy is different from estate planning
• [13:17] What impact do you want to have during your life?
• [18:09] Take time making large stake decisions
• [25:50] The tactics are easy if you take these previous steps first

LISTENER QUESTIONS

• [27:22] The differences between the representative payee program and advanced designation in Social Security
• [32:20] How to create a discount factor using a household balance sheet
• [40:09] My thoughts on taking Social Security at 68 instead of 70
• [41:25] How the IRMAA brackets work
• [45:30] Reimbursing your Medicare Part B premiums from your HSA

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT

• [47:05] Map out what kind of financial and nonfinancial legacy that you want to leave

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

BOOK - Retirement Planning Guidebook by Dr. Wade Pfau

SSA.gov/payee

44-ext.pdf">SSA-44

How to Be a Better Advocate for Your Health

LTCI Partners

Rock Retirement Club

Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That

BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney

Roger’s Retirement Learning Center