As you near retirement age, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of what’s to come. However, it’s crucial to take a step back and consider your financial future. Planning for retirement is an important part of securing your financial future, and the earlier you start, the better off you’ll be in the long run.
Whether you are just starting your career or nearing the end of it, Ferguson-Johnson Wealth Management is dedicated to helping you secure your financial future and achieve your retirement goals. We understand the unique challenges and opportunities that come with planning for retirement.
Since 1978, we have been providing independent, fee-only financial planning and wealth management services to clients in the DC, Virginia, and Maryland area. With our team’s decades of experience and deep knowledge of the industry, we are equipped to offer tailored financial solutions that meet the unique needs of retirees, ensuring they can enjoy a comfortable retirement without financial stress.
The world we live in is continually changing. The political, economic and financial landscapes may look very different tomorrow than they do today. It is important, when planning your financial future, to create a plan that allows for many fluctuations in the market and sets you up to weather any financial storms that may come your way in the next few decades.
We have a team of experienced financial advisors who understand the importance of early retirement planning. They are committed to helping clients, each with their own individual needs and objectives, at every stage of their financial journey. As such, we offer a range of services to help our clients build their wealth, manage risk, and more effectively prepare for their retirement.
A solid financial plan is the foundation of a successful retirement. Many considerations go into creating an effective, future-focused financial plan. Factors that need to be thought through include the client’s income, regular expenses, debts and liabilities, investments, and retirement goals beyond basic living expenses. Once we have a clear picture of all these factors, we can create a plan suited to the client’s specific needs and circumstances.
Investments need to be managed carefully in order to continue bearing fruit well into the future. Our experienced advisors are equipped with the knowledge and skills to create portfolios that are tailored to each of our clients’ individual needs and objectives.
We take a disciplined yet flexible approach to investment management, taking into consideration market trends now and where they may take us in the future, time horizon and risk tolerance. We then create a portfolio that works hard to meet our clients’ needs now and into the future.
Retirement planning is an important aspect of finance management. Planning for retirement can be emotive and stressful, but with all the necessary information at our fingertips we can help to plan a financial program that takes you seamlessly through retirement and beyond. Part of this is an area called Estate Planning, through which we can support clients in shaping their financial assets to hand over to their heirs when the time comes.
This can be a complex area, potentially when taking into consideration the skill sets, interests and needs of the beneficiaries of the estate. We sensitively guide our clients through the often complicated terrain that is estate planning.
Financial planning can be overwhelming, especially for anyone new to this area and not well-versed in financial lingo. We want greater knowledge of financial planning to be available to everyone, so that the right solutions can be found, benefitting both the client and the advisor. After all, a happy client is one who stays!
This is one reason why we provide a range of educational tools and resources to help clients learn more about the various aspects of financial planning, and remain engaged in the process.
It is never too early to start planning for your retirement. Wherever you are in your career trajectory, and no matter how many years you have left until retirement, good financial planning is necessary to ensure you have the income and resources you need to lead a happy, healthy and fruitful retirement.
If you’re interested in learning more about our services and how we can help you achieve your financial objectives, we encourage you to contact us today to schedule a consultation.
The first step is always to layout financial goals – What are my regular living expenses? What sorts of things will I want to do in retirement (travel, hobbies)? Will I need to help take care of my parents or my children in retirement? How will I obtain healthcare or prepare for long-term car needs? Do I want to give to charity?
Once you have an understanding where money will need to go in retirement, you can work backwards to figure out how much you need to have saved and when you can realistically retire.
The way to invest if early retirement is the goal is unique to each person’s situation and their other financial goals. Early retirement usually means a longer time-horizon is required for investment assets to provide income. Additionally, early retirement comes with its own challenges as it may be a number of years before you will be eligible for Social Security and Medicare.
These factors need to be built into an investment portfolio to manage the risks of drawing down assets too early into retirement.
Only a financial plan can help answer this question, as your expected spending on all of your financial goals will inform the amount that needs to be saved. A rule-of-thumb that many in the investment industry use to estimate the income a prudently managed retirement portfolio can produce is by using a 4% withdrawal rate on investment portfolios.
Using this rule, a $1,000,000 retirement portfolio would allow for $40,000 in withdrawals. Keep in mind, this is simply an estimate and should not be relied upon for your personal situation.
A financial planner with designations such as a CFP®(Certified Financial Planner) or CRPC®(Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor), can assist you in optimizing your retirement income and navigating the complexities of retirement planning.
They possess specialized expertise in maximizing Social Security benefits, making informed decisions about pensions and retirement accounts, minimizing tax liabilities, and exploring options like annuities or reverse mortgages when appropriate.
Additionally, they provide guidance on managing healthcare costs during retirement and help you understand the available healthcare options. A financial planner can help you develop a well-diversified investment portfolio tailored to your retirement objectives and risk tolerance.
You’ve worked hard and put aside money for 30, 40, years or more. But will what you’ve built be enough to retire on? We can help you build an income plan that takes into account your retirement accounts, other savings, and any pensions. We’ll also help you maximize your Social Security retirement benefits.
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