30 Years as a Client: Part 3

Written By: Kevin Reardon, CFP®

Picking up from Part 2 of this blog series, Curt & Cheri are now 60 and have been clients for over 20 years. If you think their financial plan (and their life) was on cruise control, think again.

Late Career Planning

During our last blog, Curt had transitioned from working for a large manufacturing company to working for a consulting company in Cleveland. This was fruitful work, but both Curt and Cheri missed their family and life back in Wisconsin. Although our financial projections indicated they had the means to retire, working through their early-to-mid 60’s would solidify their finances and give additional opportunities in retirement. Curt spoke to a few former colleagues, circulated his resume and in short order found a great job an hour north of Milwaukee.

This transition necessitated a lot of financial planning. We consolidated Curt’s latest 401k to his IRA to simplify the management of his assets and discussed a budget for their new home purchase. Given the lower cost of living in small town Wisconsin relative to Cleveland, they were able to increase their overall savings during this later career stage. We modeled new corporate benefits into their plan, which included a Defined Benefit Pension benefit if Curt worked more than five years. Cheri became involved in church and community activities as a way to give back. They settled into their new, but familiar surroundings and life was good!

On-Ramp to Retirement

During the next several years, our discussions were laser focused on retirement; both the financial and non-financial aspects of this next stage of life. Focusing on the financial aspects, we continually reviewed their retirement projection and made updates as needed. This included stress testing their retirement plan for unexpected events such as a bear market early in retirement, higher than expected expenses, and unexpected health events.

Reviewing the last item, we identified a potential challenge to their financial plan if there were to be a prolonged health event early in their retirement years. Having witnessed Cheri’s orthopedic issues (spine and neck surgery), challenges with rheumatoid arthritis and battles with cancer, they both wanted to protect their plan against future health events. We reviewed various options and they decided to purchase long term care insurance. Given Cheri’s orthopedic issues and arthritis, she unfortunately did not qualify. They decided it was still productive to purchase insurance for Curt, which provided a strong peace of mind if he had health issues.

We have found it is most critical to protect client assets a few years prior to and into retirement. As such, we reduced the risk level in their portfolio by shifting to a more conservative asset allocation a few years prior to retirement.

Our discussions of the non-financial aspects of retirement were both interesting and critically important to their plan. We challenged them to identify specific goals for retirement and to define how they would spend their time once it was truly their own. Both Curt and Cheri planned to be more active in their church and community, do more traveling and possibly take classes together. Curt mentioned a desire to teach at a local community college and get back into playing music; a passion from his youth that he put aside over the last many decades. This was a good exercise in helping them prepare emotionally for retirement and make specific plans.

The Finish Line

In 2022, after more than 45 years in the workforce, Curt and Cheri had reached the finish line… retirement!! On his last day of work, Curt’s boss took him golfing in the morning, followed by a celebratory lunch and the afternoon off. Curt and Cheri celebrated with a special dinner that evening.

Although their work was done, our work at Shakespeare was still ongoing. We rolled Curt’s latest 401k to his IRA. Having two pension plans, both from his current job and a previous job, we reviewed his options and activated pension payouts. The decision to start Social Security Income (SSI) was delayed until their Full Retirement Age (FRA). Their SSI income, when combined with their pension payouts, provided a steady and stable income stream not typical for many of our clients. We continuously review tax planning opportunities, rebalance their accounts and assist with retirement distributions.

Looking Back

Although I’ve guided many clients into and through retirement, the journey with Curt and Cheri has been the longest. To show my appreciation for three decades of trust and friendship, I drove the hour north to their home and we had a celebratory dinner. We reminisced about the various challenges we have faced together, as well as the beautiful moments in life. It was an incredibly surreal experience for me, and I think for them too. I told them they should write a book about their journey. They told me I should write a blog instead. Once again, the client was right.

Looking Forward

Much like a novel that has a wonderful ending, followed by a brief chapter of the author’s next book, Curt and Cheri’s story continues. Curt was able to play more golf last summer and into the fall, and they have done some much desired traveling. Of course, the “honey-do” list has many items that will keep them busy around the house.

Curt recently lost his elderly mother, while Cheri spends more time looking after her 104 year old mom. They have more time to swing by to see their son to help as needed.

The richness of their life isn’t measured in dollars, but rather in the dedication to the people, community and things they love. In that regard, their life will continue to be an incredible success!

A Note from Kevin: A huge thank you to Curt and Cheri for inviting me into their lives and letting me participate in their journey. What a beautiful ride it has been and I look forward to 30 more great years!

A Note from Curt & Cheri: To quote John Lennon: “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.” This has certainly been true for us as it is for most, if not all of us. We can truly say that Kevin and his team have been there for us as we navigated life’s “unplanned” changes over the past 30 years. He not only helped us make financial moves proactively, but also got to know us on a personal level. Kevin’s ethical approach and core values are what struck us from day one and are a big reason we trusted him and the Shakespeare team to handle our financial planning all this time. Thank you, Kevin, for your friendship as well as your financial guidance over the years. A special shout out goes to Andrea, who was also instrumental in getting us to the finish line. As you say, we are looking forward to 30 more great years!