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The aforementioned questions are very real to most people who are aged fifty or above. As retirement planning specialists, these three queries are most important. To properly quantify the resources required for your lifestyle after your career has ended requires significant research, modeling, and assumptions. Since no one can predict the future, many assumptions are agreed to with the client's recommendation as to the place, method, and style of life they wish to live. Will you live in a state with significant income tax rates? What about living in a foreign land that has a cost of living lower than that of the United States? Valid questions asked with a serious note of reality are what is required to meticulously plan for the future.

Your future is what you wish it would be. Well, plan for it to be. However, my father always told me that we must plan for our future and trust that our plan is adequate to meet the demands of life. Illness, sudden death, destruction of your home from inclement weather, and a host of other contingencies should be considered in your plan. One method of establishing your comfort level is to address these major issues and do not allow minor woes to derail your ambition. For example, it may be appropriate to insure against certain perils to preserve your wealth for cash flow needs during retirement. The primary residence is typically one of the largest assets of a family. To fail to insure it adequately could derail your attempt to save for the future should a tornado strike your property.

Performing the analysis to determine the adequacy of your resources for the next phase of life should be performed with inflation, growth rates, risk, and cash flow needs considered. By analyzing your current cash flow needs, you may gain a certain standard of life that you wish to retain in retirement. Perhaps you wish to retire in a community that caters to the needs of retirees and costs more than your current living expenses? These are important considerations, and you should develop a plan that accommodates these assumptions to determine the terminal point of your resources.

I often joke with our children that I wish to live a life in retirement that allows me never to run out of money, but that I time it well enough to "bounce" the last check. This is a joke in my family, as they know that my conscience will not allow such behavior. The future is bright if you plan correctly and within reason. It only dims in the failure of planning to consider the dangers that lurk ahead and insufficiently planning to overcome them.

To gain confidence in your plan for the future, seek the advice of a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® practitioner who specializes in retirement. Additional credentials, such as the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor^TM professional have tested individuals for specifics in education and ethics about retirement planning with specific considerations in income, insurance, pension planning, disability income, Medicare, and Social Security strategies, to name a few areas. Do not work alone and find that your plan may have overlooked a critical component to life success. Seek a complimentary consultation from a professional who specializes in retirement planning. Start now and stay focused to realize the best potential for success. See you on the pickleball court!

REGISTERED PRINCIPAL SECURITIES OFFERED THROUGH CAMBRIDGE INVESTMENT RESEARCH, INC., A BROKER/DEALER, MEMBER FINRA/SIPC. JIMMY J. WILLIAMS IS AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR REPRESENTATIVE OF COMPASS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, A REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISOR. CAMBRIDGE AND COMPASS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC ARE NOT AFFILIATED. 215 E. CHOCTAW, SUITE 101, MCALESTER, OK 74501. CAMBRIDGE DOES NOT OFFER LEGAL AND TAX ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR LEGAL AND TAX ADVISOR FOR SPECIFIC ESTATE AND INCOME TAX PLANNING STRATEGIES. THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE TAX ADVICE. FURTHER, YOU SHOULD NOT RELY ON THIS INFORMATION TO MAKE INVESTMENT DECISIONS.