Palm Springs Retirement

Not long ago I had a chance to spend some time in Palm Springs with my brother.  We played golf with a group of his friends from the golf course he belongs to in Canada.  Some are retired and spend their winters in the sun, while others travel to the south several times over the winter to get away from the cold and their work.

"I could really handle this lifestyle", said my brother Gary.  "I could golf every day, soak up the sun and go for dinners with all of the other people I know who are also retired down here."

On the surface, I had to agree with him.  For a golfer or sun worshipper, what a place to retire!  

After all, if you have the money living in Palm Springs would be part of many people's dream retirement.

However, I also had a chance to speak with and observe many of the people in my brother's social group who were "living the dream".  Did the fact that they had money, lived under palm trees and could golf every day automatically ensure that they would have a happy retirement?

I discussed this with John and Anne, a couple from Calgary who spent their winters in Palm Springs and their summers at the cottage back in Canada.

"There are so many of our friends down here who are as bored in Palm Springs as they are in Canada", says Anne.  "Just because they are retired here rather than in Calgary doesn't automatically mean that they are going to be happy."

It reminded me that the variables that make for a happy retirement are usually more internally driven than externally.  It doesn't matter where you live, how many rounds of golf you play or even how much money you have if you aren't doing the right things internally to be happy in retirement.

"The key for us", John told me, "is that we try to keep as much structure in our life and to balance our activities so that we aren't always doing the same things.  You have to keep busy, but that means staying mentally alert as well as physically active."

Friends and an active social life are extremely important to John and Anne, just as they are back in Canada.  "That part doesn't change", says Anne.  "While we enjoy each other's company, we still know that we need to get out and meet people to really round out our lifestyle here".

The couple both belong to separate golf leagues though they do try to golf together at least twice a week.  "Our social life here really mirrors our life back in Canada", says John.  "We have our own friends and then socialize together with couples and singles that we have come to know here."

As we talked, it occurred to me that Palm Springs provided a great venue to retire in, but that alone was not going to mean that a successful retirement was a given.  "We know lots of people who figured that they would have it all if they could afford to retire down here", laughs Anne. 

 "Once they get here, they soon recognize that they things that made their lives happy back home are the same things that they have to look after in Palm Springs.

Retirement planning for uncertain times

Over the holidays, I had a chance to spend some time with many friends.  Inevitably, our conversations turned to the economic crisis and the outlook for the future.  I don’t recall a time when there was such pessimism among my social group, despite the fact that most were either retired comfortably or were close to the end of a successful business career.

 

The immediacy of retirement planning has shone a brighter light on discussions of today’s financial uncertainty.   In the past when most of my friends were working, these economic setbacks were of short-term concern; they might affect the business outlook for a couple of quarters or perhaps affect the performance of investment portfolios.

 

Today, however, concerns about our economic outlook are clouding the long-term thinking when it comes to retirement.  Worry has caused even my most reasoned friends to question their long-term security and the viability of their retirement dreams.

 

While there are some things that we all should be concerned with, there are also some worries that are just plain irrational.  The world is likely not coming to an end and you will not have to keep working until you are in your seventies.  However, there are some things that you can do to make your retirement plan more trouble-proof.

 

Here is how I see these market conditions affecting retirement planning for those who are not yet retired.

 

1. If you have any choice at all, you might want to review your goal of full retirement.  A lot of people are only looking at the leisure aspects of retirement and have decided that they want to leave the workplace entirely.  If we learn anything from the economic setbacks of the past year, it is that investment markets, real estate and the overall value of our money can turn negative virtually over night.   There are lots of benefits to staying involved in your work, even if you only work part-time or take long sabbaticals.   Continuing to work can add to your retirement cushion in difficult times.
2. Make sure that you have a clear understanding of how much your retirement is going to cost.  Consider how much your lifestyle is going to cost by thinking in terms of three money pots that you will have to draw on: the money you will spend on essential purchases each month, the lifestyle or life enjoyment money that you spend and finally the amount that you need to have in your nestegg that will give you a sense of financial comfort.
3. Look at your investment portfolio and ensure that at least three years    living expenses is covered by a pension, or safe, secure investments.  Growth is important, but only after you have covered your expected needs.  No one has any idea how long the uncertainty will last, so err on the side of caution when you are protecting your retirement savings.  Safe secure investments are those that are principle protected and will not suffer from any further meltdowns.
4. Have access to at least three months of ready cash.  Retirement will be a time of unexpected demands and you don’t want to be in the position of having to cash something in at an inopportune time.  As you make your retirement plans, think in terms of short, medium and long-term time horizons and plan your investments and savings accordingly.
5. Consider not only the dreams and goals that you have for the future, but also those things that may not unfold as you plan.  I call this a “fire drill”; all that means is that you consider how you will protect yourself from such things as market meltdowns, economic uncertainty, personal uncertainty, health issues and family challenges.
6. Be prepared to move into retirement earlier than you might have expected.  As companies react to economic conditions, they may make changes that will affect your retirement plans.  Just because you plan to retire in five years doesn’t mean that you won’t wake up tomorrow morning with a golden handshake or lay off notice from your company.  If this uncertainty teaches us anything, it is to be prepared for the unexpected.

So what do I do now with my retirement plan?

 

If I hear one more time how someone's freedom 55 has become freedom 75...

Yes, markets have continued to gyrate and it is scaring many Canadians who are concerned about their retirement plans.  

For most Canadians, the current market shakeout has become personal, particularly for those who are on the verge of retirement and are now reassessing their plans.  Given that one-thousand of us turn 60 each and every day, there are a lot of people who are trying to make sense of where their retirement dreams have disappeared to.

On one hand, retirement clients are in desperate need of comfort and a calming source of wisdom.  On the other hand, they are confused about who to blame for their current situation and are not convinced that the advice they have received from their advisors was appropriate given what was going to happen in the markets! (Isn’t 20/20 hindsight wonderful!)

In fact, I watched one financial commentator on a major Canadian network talk about where clients could go to launch action against their advisors for “unsuitability of investments”.  His message: if your investment portfolio is down significantly, you may be able to take your case to Securities regulators.

Irrationality has now become the norm…

Do I sell everything and get out? I have never pretended to be an investment expert and I am not sure that they even exist in this kind of market environment.  Here are some things that you might think about:

• It is probably too late to get out--you have already lost a chunk of your nest egg and now you are trying to time the bottom.  One thing I do know is that this is unlikely the end of the world as we know it and at some point the opportunities will appear again.  Give it some time (months, not years) before you make a knee-jerk reaction.  Besides, it is not your investments that are bad--just their prices!
• If you do sell everything, are you just going to put it into a mattress?  This is not the time to tie it up for a long time, though I do understand the fear that will drive you to liquidate.
• Don't automatically blame your investment advisor.  All that anybody can go on is what has always been rationale and reasonable in the markets--this isn't a rationale or reasonable market so how was anyone going to see it coming?
• Remember Warren Buffet's advice: "it is always better to be approximately right rather than precisely wrong!"

Sit down with your advisor and figure out where you are.  You can't do anything about the money you have lost so you might as well look at your retirement portfolio as if it were entirely new money.  If you had new money today, what would you do with it?

Bottom line though, is that you have to be able to sleep at night.  However, that is not an automatic invitation to make a rash decision!

Does this mean that I won't be able to retire? Neither one of us can answer that question without taking a look at your overall retirement plan.  By the way, that is more than just a financial plan--it is also an examination of what you actually want to do in this next phase of your life.  You may be so caught up in thinking that you won't be able to retire that you will miss the fact that you may not have wanted to retire anyway!

Sit down with your advisor and work out a lifestyle plan.  Then look at the money you have left and figure out if the two match.  I also think this is a good opportunity to look at all of the assets you have that will pay for your retirement, along with the liabilities that you are carrying.  We have all received a financial wakeup call, so let's make the best of it.

Good luck, stay informed and stay calm!  If you have an individual question or concern, email me.

What does this financial crisis mean to your retirement?

“The Black Swan”

September 29 will likely be one of “those days” that we will long remember as we look back on the performance of investment markets. We endured the previous “Black Monday” of October 19, 1987 when most Canadian boomers were in the early stages of putting our money aside for the future. While the 1987 market crash pared almost 25% off the value of the U.S. market and 11% in Canada, the fact that many Canadians had their retirement savings locked away in their RRSPs made the crash more of a news event than a threat to their long-term plans. The event is, for most of us, a distant memory of something that few thought could happen.
Today, we are facing the same kind of shock to the global financial system. The difference now is that our perspective has changed and we no longer look at meltdowns in our financial markets with detachment.
Also, our investment time horizon has changed. We are no longer talking about a loss to our long-term money—it is our short-term plans that are taking a hit. The question is, how will this affect your plans and how should you look at your retirement nest egg in light of recent events?
A lesson learned from 1987
The 1987 market crash was much more than a deep reversal in stock fortunes. It represented a watershed moment that has been called a “black swan” event because many thought that it couldn’t happen. Our ideas about rational market behaviour and efficient markets were called into question in the aftermath of that Monday, though time has muted the lessons somewhat.
September 29, 2008 may in time be considered another of those “black swan” events, but this time with a major difference. Many North American investors now feel that their entire retirement plans are in peril and will no doubt examine their future plans with less optimism than before.
Black swan events can happen at any time. They show us that the world doesn’t always unfold in the way that we think it should. If our retirement plans are dependent on a “best case scenario” or a perpetually rosy outlook on “the way that things are supposed to work” then it may be time to take a new look at the assumptions we have made about the future.
If your retirement is within sight, what does all this mean to you?
First, this isn’t the end of the world as you know it. At some point, cooler heads will prevail and we will all be older and wiser. There are some positives that most Canadians should take from all of this that will remind them of how important financial prudence is as they approach retirement.
The lesson learned here is that life has its ups-and-downs and you have to plan accordingly. Warren Buffet had a great piece of investment advice for retirees when he said that,
“Because investing is such an inexact science, it is always better to be approximately right than precisely wrong!”
The people who will likely suffer the most through all of this are those who have lived close to the edge, leveraged themselves far more than was wise given their circumstances and depended on a perfect scenario unfolding that will give them the retirement of their dreams.
This is a reality check on your personal finances on the verge of your retirement.
As you look at how your retirement investments have fared, it might be a good time to rethink some of the bets that you have made.
Behavioral finance suggests that the older we get, the more conservative we become. Unfortunately, many Canadians looking at retirement have not taken the prudent approach to their retirement nest egg and have taken unnecessary risks to try to maximize the amount they can retire on.
Obviously diversification is the key, but not just by stock market sector. Asset allocation is particularly important as you move into retirement because you want to ensure that you have protected yourself as much as possible.
Don’t forget too that in times of market stress, there will always be opportunities that present themselves. If you feel that you have invested in good quality companies, then down markets give you the chance to buy more at lower prices.
Here are the steps you should take now:
1. Sit down with your investment advisor and review where you stand. Don’t panic—this probably isn’t the time to sell everything and run for the hills! If you own good quality investments, they will need some time to recover. Consider dollar-cost averaging or making new investments on companies you feel are sound.
2. Review your debt situation and get your financial house in order if it needs it. The credit crisis has been caused in part by an overuse of credit on a grand scale—there will be household meltdowns on a much smaller scale if individuals are over-leveraged and the world doesn’t unfold like they planned.
3. Reexamine your retirement plans and take a close look at the key areas of your life that will require some thought. This isn’t just about your money, but also your family issues, your health challenges, your leisure, your relationships and your home. You are no doubt getting a sense of how important “financial comfort” is in the light of today’s news and you may want to look at the kinds of things that will give you financial comfort in the future.
4. Don’t panic, just stay informed.
If you are already retired
I like the idea of thinking about your retirement savings in terms of the three spending buckets that you will have in this next stage of your life. As you reexamine where you stand in light of market turmoil, divide your retirement savings into three categories and invest accordingly.
1. Your “essentials” bucket—this is the money that you will have to spend on food, clothing, shelter, transportation, insurance and everything else that is absolutely essential to live your retirement life. This money should not be leveraged to the stock market and should be kept safe and secure; if the market melts down again you want to feel comfortable that your basic life needs are covered. Guaranteed monthly withdrawal plans and your company pension if you have one are good ways to make sure this is covered.
2. Your “lifestyle” bucket—this will pay for those things in retirement that will provide you with life enjoyment. Your investments here will likely be more growth oriented, though you still want to protect some of it so that your ideal retirement lifestyle isn’t going to be wiped out in a market crash.
3. Your “nest egg” bucket—this is your savings account or long-term retirement money. At the end of your life it will form the major part of your estate but in the short run it will likely be the source of your financial comfort. You want some growth here, but also diversification because this is longer-term money and you want to preserve as much of it as you can while still receiving a return. Real estate, precious metals etc. are good ways to diversify your nest egg bucket.
However, your nest egg bucket will also have to provide you with emergency funds if you need it so make sure that there is at least three to six months of living expenses that you could immediately draw on if you needed it. World equity markets aren’t the only things that have black swan events!
Rethinking early retirement
There will be people who have had to change their retirement plans overnight based on current events. While markets will likely rebound and some form of normalcy return, the fact that this event could even happen will give pause to some.
I have found that a lot of people have planned for an early retirement without the financial foundation to be able to weather a storm. We should all remember that this will not likely be the last of such storms and that a retirement plan has to consider both the good things that could happen as well as the things that might go wrong.
If you are thinking that you want to retire early and depend on your pension, your investments or your savings to sustain you, consider what kind of protection you have against the unexpected.
Would there be any scenario that might force you to go back to work to sustain your lifestyle in retirement? Do you really have enough put aside to walk away and be free from any kind of financial worry?
I have seen far too many be so keen on early retirement that their assumptions about the performance that they will get on their investments and the income that they will need are just not realistic.
My question for you is whether the whole idea of “retirement” is what you want anyway? If the market crisis has caused you to even wonder whether you can afford to retire than perhaps you are getting your own answer simply because you have had to think about it.

Retiring on your own?
Taking control of your retirement plans
When we conduct retirement seminars, most of our audience are married couples. In fact, much of the planning programs and articles picture a traditional couple enjoying their retirement activities and sailing off into the sunset together. It would be easy to just do a presentation that would apply to the majority of the audience and hope that the singles in the group would simply take out the information that would apply to them and ignore the rest.
At the end of one of my sessions, I was approached by Margaret and Janice. Both women were in their fifties; Margaret had been widowed several years ago while her friend Janice had been divorced for the past five years. “What advice do you have for those of us who are going into retirement on our own?” Janice asked me. “What are some of the challenges that we will face that couples won’t have to deal with?”
The transition into retirement can be a trying time for most people whether they are in a relationship or on their own. Many retirement plans assume that couples will engage in new activities or enjoy exciting travel and that together they can build a future after work. Yet, Statistics Canada tells us that 30% of Canadian boomers are single and 60% of all Canadian women over age 65 are single, widowed or divorced.
There are few tips or information available for singles facing retirement without a partner. The few that I have come across in my own research concentrate on how singles can avoid “the loneliness of retirement” as if being single and retiring was a double dose of bad luck!
In fact, I know a lot of couples entering retirement very much on their own. They don’t share the same views on what they are going to do, they may be dealing with competing goals or perhaps one partner is suffering an identity crisis.
To assume that all singles encounter problems in retirement and that all couples are happy is an overgeneralization. I see a number of issues that all retirees will have to face that will apply equally to both groups.
However, there is one area where many singles are at a disadvantage as they enter retirement: their financial situation may not be as healthy as a couple with two savings plans, two company pensions etc. Also, no life insurance policies to provide an extra cushion in later life.
I recognize that it is tough for two people to live as cheaply as one, though I find many singles in retirement spending more on travel, entertainment and hobbies as a way to enjoy their time or develop new relationships or interests.
I think that many couples in retirement can actually learn something from successful singles who are doing very well in their transition. Here are some of the keys to a successful retirement for singles:
1. Keep working. Many singles opt to stay in the workplace for as long as possible. Additional income, pension benefits and other employee benefits are just some of the financial reasons. This is not only a good thing to consider financially, but from a retirement lifestyle perspective it also makes good sense. Workplace relationships are very important in providing a social network that can be sustained into retirement. Longevity studies also suggest that the longer you work at something you enjoy, the more positive the effects on your longevity. Too often I see people give up their work at the behest of a spouse or partner and end up being miserable. When you are single, you are making your own decisions!
2. Develop a robust social network. When you are single, you are more likely to develop and sustain friendships than if you are married. In retirement, a nurturing and supportive social network is a key to success and most single retirees are aware of the need to develop “surrogate families” or close personal friendships that will provide many of the same comforts as a married relationship. By the way, if you are so inclined be open to new relationships! You never know when you will meet someone special who might want to share your retirement with you. For some singles, this is very important—others are quite comfortable living life on their own and not wanting to enter into a relationship. The nice thing about singles retirement is that it is entirely your choice.
3. Be a “self starter”. In retirement, self-directed people tend to do better than “other-directed” people. The ability to take control of your life, make decisions and plans on your own because you have to, and look to your inner strength to manoeuvre through life’s challenges and opportunities are important keys to retirement success. The New England Centenarian study shed some light on the importance of taking control in later years. In that study published in 2007, researchers found that an abnormally high number of women who lived past the age of one-hundred had never been married! This isn’t an indictment on marriage, but a testimony to the fact that if you make it to one-hundred and you have never been married, you had to be a self-starter for a lot of years!
4. Be a life-long learner and explorer. Since this is your own retirement and you don’t necessarily have to share it unless you want to, you can use some of your time to expand your mind. Is there a course that you always wanted to take? This is your chance to go back to school and learn about something that has always interested you. How about a trip that you have long dreamt of? The nice thing about travel for singles is that there are so many possibilities that are designed specifically for someone on their own who would like the support of a group but the freedom of independence. A friend of mine recently returned from a women’s only trekking adventure to Everest base camp. Most cruise lines have single-friendly cruises also. You can combine travel with socialization and you don’t have to feel uneasy or out-of-place.
5. Remember the principles of healthy aging. We already know that women generally live longer than men and that overall health of women retirees is higher than their male counterparts. While both need to pay attention to their health, it is also important for singles of both sexes to remember that healthy aging is as much a mental issue as it is a physical challenge. Retirement success is a lot about attitude. If you are happy with your situation as a single retired person, or have learned to deal with it you will enjoy a more successful retirement. If not, stress and depression can undo your best efforts to live a healthy physical life.
Finally, a large number of Canadian singles in retirement didn’t start out that way. Whether they have lost their spouse through divorce or bereavement, the fact is that many new singles had other retirement plans that they were going to share.
I am convinced that all couples should conduct a ‘fire drill’ when they make their retirement plans. That involves a frank “what if?” discussion that would address the possibility of the “best laid plans’ going astray. Suddenly single is tough enough on both your physical and mental health that it is worth at least considering what you might do if you found yourself in that situation.
At the very least, satisfy yourself that if you had to take over the family finances tomorrow, you could do so with little stress.