Will retirement meet your expectations?

When people who have spent decades building a business or growing a career begin to contemplate retirement, they may suddenly find themselves in the unfamiliar position of feeling a bit apprehensive. In the business world they’re confident and in control, but what will happen when their working life—or at least work as they know—comes to an end and they decide to retire? They may ask: Have I saved enough? What are others in my circumstances doing? Most importantly, what should I do?

If you’re reading this, you’re already taking the first important step of recognizing that just as a successful work life doesn’t happen by accident, neither does a successful retirement. But with careful planning and sound advice from your trusted advisors, you will be better positioned to live the lifestyle you choose and meet your retirement and legacy goals.

As you consider retirement, it’s helpful to start by dispelling some common myths.

Myth 1: Retirement is all or nothing.

One of the most prevalent myths about retirement is in the concept itself. A common but somewhat outdated notion is that retirement is like flipping a switch, where one day you’re working and the next day you’re not. That may have been the norm for previous generations but it’s less true today.

More than 80% of today’s employees surveyed expect to work during retirement.^†

Many people who could retire still enjoy their work, so they choose to reduce their hours rather than leave their jobs entirely. Others officially retire from one occupation but then choose to return to work part-time in an encore career that aligns with their passions or fulfills their desire to give back. The luxury of pursuing a passion that satisfies your soul, regardless of remuneration, is something that a good retirement plan can help you achieve.

Myth 2: Only ultra-high-net-worth individuals need estate plans.

Retirement planning is closely linked to estate planning, but some are under the mistaken impression that estate plans are only for the very wealthy. The truth is, just about everyone needs an estate plan and in fact, everyone has one—either one that they created themselves or one that the state has created for them. In other words, if you don’t decide in advance what will happen to your assets when you are no longer there, the state will decide for you, in probate.

Myth 3: You’ll spend a lot less in retirement.

If you search for information about retirement, you’ll likely see the assertion that you’ll need only 80% of your pre-retirement income once you’re retired. In reality, however, many people actually spend more in retirement—particularly in the first seven to 10 years—because they have health, time, and resources.

Given those tailwinds, the early retirement years can be the ideal time for personal pursuits such as traveling to distant destinations you’ve always wanted to visit, or to share special, once-in-a-lifetime vacation experiences with children and grandchildren.

Myth 4: The closer you are to retirement, the more conservative your investment portfolio should be.

No matter what a person’s net worth, it’s natural to worry about the potential for a steep decline in the stock market when you’re close to or in retirement—hence the old adage that you should weight your asset allocation more heavily in bonds rather than stocks as you age. But given that many of today’s retirees are living longer and healthier lives, even at retirement you are still partly a long-term investor so you may want at least a portion of your money to grow, at the very least enough to keep pace with inflation.

Retirement planning can be complex and time-consuming but like many things, the hardest part may be just getting started and tackling it one piece at a time. Working in concert with your legal, tax and investment advisors, your Huntington advisor will help you craft a retirement plan that helps minimize unnecessary entanglements and negative tax consequences and also evolves with you as laws, your spending, and your goals change over time.

"As you approach and enter retirement, your team of advisors can help you determine the optimal asset allocation based on your personal comfort level with market volatility as well as your short- and long-term objectives," said Dan Griffith, Senior Vice President and Director of Wealth Strategy, Huntington Private Bank^®.

Download PDF