November is finally here and Nichole is back! That means it’s time for listener questions. This month is my planning month where I take the time to map out the next year so that I’m not just drifting along. I try to be intentional about where the show is going and where my practice and life are going too. Listen in to hear what’s in store for 2021 on the Retirement Answer Man and find out the answers to several listener questions. 

How to balance enjoying life now with planning for later

A listener, who describes herself as being in the constrained category of retirement readiness, asks how she can balance enjoying her life now with saving for retirement. This is a question that everyone struggles with, even those that are overfunded. We all tend to think of saving for retirement like climbing a mountain. This climb is filled with sacrifice and denial of comfort and pleasure. 

I argue that we must change our mindset when it comes to retirement. We must stop thinking of retirement as a destination and start enjoying this never-ending journey now. 

It helps to map out your spending and separate it into 3 categories. Listen in to hear what those categories are and how you can map out your cash flow to make you feel more at ease about retirement. 

How to decide whether to take the full pension or the pension with survivor benefits

One listener is faced with yet another retirement decision. Soon he must decide whether to take a full pension or a lesser amount with survivor benefits. How should one decide what to do? Just like with the previous question, it’s important to build a model first. Map out your cashflow and test it out by using different scenarios. This will give you a good idea of how much you really need to live the life you want. 

When should my spouse collect Social Security if her benefit is based on mine?

Mark and his wife have calculated that she will collect a larger benefit it is based on her husband’s earnings rather than her own. Spousal benefits are 50% of the higher-earning partner. However, the secondary partner can’t claim their benefits until the primary spouse claims theirs. So if the primary beneficiary decides to wait until age 70 to collect their benefit, then the secondary must wait to collect as well. Listen in to discover what the secondary spouse can do in the meantime to start the cash flowing in. 

Julie is looking for a safe investment for her 5 years of cash reserves

Julie wants to have 5 years of cash reserves but would like that large chunk of money to be earning a bit as well. It is hard to find a way to do this right now with interest rates so low. High yielding money market accounts may only yield .5%. CD’s aren’t much better and range between .65% - 1%. Individual bonds also have terrible returns. I do have one suggestion if you don’t mind a bit of complexity and paperwork. Listen in to find out what it is. 

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

• [3:06] What is intention?

LISTENER QUESTIONS WITH NICHOLE

• [11:20] How to balance enjoying life now with planning for later
• [16:46] Deciding whether to take the full pension or the pension with survivor benefits
• [19:40] When should my spouse collect Social Security if her benefit is based on mine?
• [23:26] Julie is looking for a safe investment for her 5 years of cash reserves
• [28:39] How to get a second set of eyes on his portfolio?

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT

• [30:47] Look at your investment assets and see if they are giving distribution estimations so you can do some tax planning

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Rock Retirement Club

Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That

BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney

Work with Roger

Roger’s Retirement Learning Center