7 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Retirement Planner

Planning for retirement is obviously important, but do you really need a retirement planner? Here’s why we believe the answer is yes.

A retirement planner is a financial professional who specializes in helping you plan for retirement. Good retirement planners understand all of the ins and outs of retirement. They can help you determine what your retirement will ultimately look like, estimate how much you will need to pursue your goals and how to not only save but invest to help ensure you won’t outlive your retirement money.

A retirement planner can also help you once you reach retirement, as planning can become even more complex when the time actually comes. With regular paychecks no longer coming in, retirees are often faced with the daunting task of turning their hard-earned savings into an income stream that can provide for the costs of daily living.

What Services Does a Retirement Planner Provide?

A retirement planner can help you build and implement a comprehensive plan to guide you into and through retirement. He or she should put in all the legwork to help you pursue an independent and happy future after you stop working.

For example, at Align-Wealth Partners, when we first meet with a client, we make sure to establish what’s most important to them, both today and later on. From there, we evaluate their current financial situation and establish how to get them from where they are today to where they want to be when they retire. We look at things like:

• Current savings and investments
• Risk tolerance
• Sources of retirement income
• Desired lifestyle in retirement
• Whether or not our client is on track to meet their retirement goals

We then help clients address any concerns they have and any options available to help minimize taxes and make more money on investments. We understand that retirement planning in Baton Rouge can be different from other places in the country, and we make sure our clients are in a good position to potentially maximize their investment opportunities.

 

Ready to discuss your retirement with a financial advisor? Contact Align-Wealth Partners to see how we can help.

 

So, let’s get back to the original question of this blog post: Do you really need a retirement planner?

Here are 7 reasons we believe the answer is yes:

1. You Aren’t an Expert

Planning your retirement on your own may sound like it makes financial sense, but this can be a very expensive mistake.

Think about it: If you need a new roof on your house, and you’re not in the roofing business, chances are you will hire a professional. If you’re confused about taxes, most people hire an experienced CPA. If you’re unsure about investments, it only makes sense to seek the help of a professional.

Furthermore, do you really have the time to study the market and its historical performance? Do you have experience investing? Do you have the emotional fortitude to stay calm in a volatile market?

When taking this all-important task on your own, people often make costly mistakes, emotional decisions and purchases based on good sales pitches; not experience and proof.

It usually pays to do a little work now to save you time and money in the long run. Make sure you’re working with the best financial advisor for you the first time around to prevent having to go back and make expensive fixes to your plan.

2. You Don’t Want to Continue to Put it Off

Retirement planning is best when you have time to make your money grow. However, when tasks are complicated, we tend to “put it off until later.” That’s fine, but unfortunately, for many people, that “later” ends up being never, and the retirement plans someone may have had are no longer reachable.

Hiring a retirement planner allows you to pass the hard work on to someone else – and lets you cross off another task from your to-do list!

We hear it all the time: “Everything will work out in the end, right?”

The sad truth is that it doesn’t always. And what if it doesn’t? What’s your retirement plan then?

3. People are Living Longer

You may know a thing or two about investing and decide to take on the task of retirement planning yourself to “save money.” But people are living longer. So, with that in mind, do you also understand the ups and downs of Social Security? How ever-changing tax laws can affect your savings? How to budget for a longer life? What estate planning laws and decisions can affect your loved ones when you’re gone?

For many people, the answer to this question is terrifying. Most people don’t want to work forever. And their dreams for retirement don’t include working at a desk in their 70s.

Working with a retirement planner who really understands what it takes to live the retirement life you want to live can give you confidence and help you work toward the goals you set.

4. Life Doesn’t Always Go as Planned

You may have a retirement plan in mind. And you may be on track to reaching that goal. But what if you lose your job? Lose your spouse unexpectedly? Find yourself having to care for your parents? Your adult children?

An experienced retirement planner can help you plan for the unexpected so your life doesn’t have to completely change when your situation does. A retirement planner can act as your financial advocate – again, if you choose the right one to work with.

5. Living Completely on Social Security or a Pension is Not a Good Idea

Petrochemical employees, for example, typically get a pension, but many don’t understand what this means for them when the time comes to retire. Working with a retirement planner who has experience with working with these individuals and in this field can really shed some light on a solid retirement plan.

While Social Security and a pension should be included in a financial plan, they typically don’t provide enough money to continue the lifestyle you may have become used to. These retirement plans can help supplement your retirement, and a retirement planner can help put the other pieces together.

6. Retirement Planning is Not Just About You

What about your loved ones? What if you put off your retirement and don’t get around to it until it’s too late? What will happen to your assets – and to the people you love?

If you don’t put a retirement plan in place, the state in which you live in will do it for you. And chances are, you won’t like it!

The only way to make sure your wishes are carried out as you hope is to put your plans in writing and prepare the proper paperwork.

Think of the celebrities who have had long public lawsuits about estate plans and money. Most people don’t want that for their loved ones. Many retirement planners either work closely with an estate lawyer or have one on staff at the firm where they work.

7. Working with a Professional Just Makes Sense

Even if you just need help, people tend to lean on specialists. Want to lose weight? Hire a coach. Want to eat better? Talk with a dietician. Want to have a better outlook on life? Talk with a life coach.

The same can be said about your retirement. If you’re ready to have a serious conversation about your retirement and your future, schedule a no-strings-attached complimentary meeting with one of the Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) at Align-Wealth Partners and start the conversation today.