If you’re working for some company that you don’t personally own (and for many of you who own your own business), you probably would like to retire. But, as one financial counselor put it: People hate doing retirement planning second only to their dislike of planning for the possibility of dying. But, let me add that most people don’t want to die, but most people make complaints that they can’t wait to retire and get away from their job. So why do we procrastinate when it comes to planning for income during our retirement years?
On a side point, let me kill one myth about starting to learn about retirement: If you can read and understand this blog, you’re not too young to start learning. I think I was around 17 years old when my mom pulled me aside and first explained to me what a 401k was. In my 20’s when I accepted a management position in a large corporation, my understanding of that company’s 401(k) plan helped me make the decision to accept the offer of employment.
It’s a fact that not spending the time to understand your employer’s compensation package, which includes retirement benefits, can cost you. One colleague of mine shared how she originally didn’t understand what stock options were. As the company gave her options, she didn’t inquire as to what a stock option was and took no action on the financial statements and notices that the company sent to her. Eventually, her options expired and she literally lost all the money that the options afforded her as part of her employment compensation.
So why do people procrastinate when it comes to doing retirement planning, when everyone seems like they want to retire? I think the answer has to do with the complexity of retirement planning. I think the reluctance has to do with the fear of sitting down and trying to understand your company’s available options, trying to decipher all the state and federal tax implications, trying to understand how much money you need to produce the necessary retirement income, and so on and so on; then there’s all that legal lingo the retirement forms and documentation are written in.
Also, I personally don’t have buckets of money where I can go out and purchase a high-priced Expert Financial Professional to help me navigate the process. Anyway, spending lots of money doesn’t guarantee quality service.
Yes, I’ve been reading my company’s plan descriptions, reading financial books, listening to and/or watching financial programs: Suze Orman; Money Talk with Bob Brinker; Mad Money with Jim Cramer; etc., etc. But sometimes you want to ask some questions, face to face, and get some direct answers from someone who understands your retirement options better than you, who doesn’t represent the interests of your employer. Oh, and did I say I wanted the advice to be free.
Well, here’s my tip:
There are a variety of financial firms that put on retirement seminars that sometimes are pretty good. I’ve gone to a couple seminars and had a few side conversations with the financial advisors from a firm called “TheRetirementGroup” (www.theretirementgroup.com). Fortunately, they seem to have done their homework in understanding different facets of retirement. In particular, my company’s retirement package is one that they have studied extensively. At the least, each of the seminars taught me things that I did not know. And, I have been satisfied with their answers to my specific questions. Most important, I have not been able to find any holes in the information they have provided via independent research I have done.
How do they make their money? I believe they provide all the free information and service in order to prove their worth and expertise and eventually gain you as a client of their paid professional financial services. But, that doesn’t bother me; if they continue to be useful, I’m considering engaging them in the future. And, if I don’t engage them, I don’t have to worry as they are pretty low-pressure, so far, as regards trying to force me to sign up for any paid services.
Hear’s what I want from you:
If you’ve had any interaction with the firm I mentioned above, let us know how your experience was.