“How much money do I need to retire?” For decades, this has been the central question in retirement planning. It’s an important one, but there’s another we like to ask our clients: “What is your purpose?”
A successful retirement is a new chapter rich with meaning, generosity, and impact, and it requires a plan that aligns your wealth with your most deeply held values. To help build this future, we aim to guide clients through five foundational pillars that support a truly purposeful life.
- The Vision Pillar: From Vague Dreams to a Clear Blueprint
The first pillar is moving from a fuzzy idea of “not working anymore” to a clear, exciting vision of your retirement. This vision becomes the blueprint for how you prepare for the next chapter, which aligns your financial plan to the life you truly want to live.
As you develop your retirement vision, consider these personal reflection questions:
- Beyond travel and hobbies, what would a truly fulfilling week in retirement look like for you?
- Who are the people you want to invest your time in most, and what shared experiences do you want to create with them?
- What legacy of character and values, not just wealth, do you want to be known for?
- The Stewardship Pillar: From Accumulator to Distributor
The skills that helped you build wealth are different from the skills needed to make it last through retirement. This requires a mindset shift from accumulator to distributor. Here, you can think about stewarding the resources you’ve been blessed with, creating a sustainable retirement income strategy designed to help you focus more on living life, not constantly watching the markets.
Ask yourself these personal reflection questions:
- Have you considered how you will create a reliable “paycheck” from your portfolio that can last for 30 years or more?
- How will your withdrawal strategy adapt to changing market conditions to protect your resources?
- What is your plan for taking distributions in the most tax-efficient way possible to honor your stewardship goals?
- The Legacy Pillar: From Assets to Impact
This pillar reframes estate planning from a dry, legal task into an opportunity to define your impact through legacy planning and charitable giving. A purposeful retirement often involves thinking beyond oneself. It’s a chance to plan for a legacy of generosity and wisdom, with the goal of supporting your family in a way that reflects your values.
Think about the following:
- How can your wealth be used as a tool to empower your loved ones toward financial wisdom, rather than just enable them?
- If you could generously support one cause or organization, what lasting impact would you hope to make?
- Have you clearly communicated the story and intention behind your legacy plan to your family?
- The Resilience Pillar: From a Rigid Plan to a Flexible Framework
Life is unpredictable. A purposeful plan is a resilient framework for navigating your retirement transition with peace of mind. Retirement often coincides with major life changes, such as downsizing, health challenges, or new family responsibilities. Your plan should be flexible enough to adapt, giving you confidence when life feels uncertain.
Here are some personal reflection questions for this pillar:
- Does your current plan have the flexibility to handle a major unexpected event, like a long-term health issue or the need to care for a parent?
- Have you and your spouse discussed how your financial life would adapt if one of you were to pass away unexpectedly?
- The Partnership Pillar: From Siloed Professionals to a Coordinated Team
A truly purposeful retirement isn’t something to plan in isolation. Too often, our financial lives are managed in disconnected pieces. This final pillar brings those pieces together. It requires a central guide who understands your whole picture and coordinates with your CPA and attorney, helping every part of your financial life work in harmony.
Here are some personal reflection questions to evaluate your team’s coordination:
- Do all your financial professionals (advisor, CPA, attorney) communicate and work from the same strategic plan?
- Is your financial advisor helping you prepare for life’s transitions, or are they only focused on your investment portfolio?
Your Next Step in Retirement Planning
Exploring these pillars is just one piece of the puzzle. Next, it’s time to begin building your foundation. To help you do that, we’ve created Your Pre-Retirement Financial Toolkit. This complimentary guide includes a detailed pre-retirement checklist and the worksheets you need to put your vision into action.
When you’re ready to turn your plan into a reality, connect with a SageSpring advisor to build a retirement that’s rich in meaning, not just money.
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