Introduction

Madison: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Not Just Numbers, Honest Conversations with a Financial Advisor and Lawyer. I am Madison Demora, and I’m here with Mike Garry. Mike is a financial advisor and CFP and the founder and the CEO of Yardley Wealth Management. He is also an estate planning lawyer, and his law firm is Yardley Estate Planning. Hi, Mike.

Mike: Hey, Maddie. How are you?

Madison: Good, good. How are you?

Mike: Great, great. Thanks for asking.

Madison: Of course. So we are at the fifth and final series of our five point series of pre retiree education. So the last but not least is managing the transition to retirement.

Key Retirement Planning Decisions

Madison: All right, so, Mike, what are some key retirement planning decisions that individuals should make as they approach retirement?

Mike: So, key decisions include determining when to retire, estimating retirement expenses and income, deciding on a retirement budget, selecting retirement income sources and when you’re going to do them, and considering factors like Social Security and healthcare costs.

Relationships in Retirement

Madison: Okay. Why is it essential to emphasize relationships when planning for retirement and how can they impact one’s retirement experience?

Mike: Sure, relationships play a significant role in retirement as they provide emotional support, social engagement, and opportunities for shared activities. Maintaining strong relationships can enhance the quality of life during retirement. Like, this is, this is one of the big things. I mean, this is why this part is one of the five parts in this five part series. It’s not just putting away your lunchbox and like, hey, you’re done. Like, this is a big thing. The transition to retirement is a big step and it’s a little scary for people, and they’re not sure what to do. And figuring out the money is one part of it, figuring out what you’re going to do and who you’re going to interact with on a daily basis in retirement, just huge decisions. And I think that people need to realize that they’re not alone in going through this and that everybody who retires has some, some sort of similar feelings and thoughts. You know, some people can’t wait to retire and they know exactly what they’re going to do, and that’s great for them, but that’s probably not most people. A lot of people are unsure of how they’re going to do things, and I think we need to address that. Right. Talk about it. It’s important. And you know you’re not going to solve anything without thinking about it or trying to figure it out.

Legal Considerations

Madison: Yeah. So what legal considerations should individuals keep in mind when planning for retirement and estate management?

Mike: Sure. Legal considerations include creating or updating wills and trust, designating beneficiaries for retirement accounts, establishing powers of attorney and healthcare proxies, and considering long term care planning and end of life wishes.

Practical Steps for Happy Retirement

Madison: Okay. What are some practical steps individuals can take to ensure a happy and productive retirement?

Mike: Sure. Well, you need to set clear retirement goals, I should say, physically and mentally active. You know, spend time pursuing your hobbies and interests, volunteering or engaging in part time work, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you know, working out and managing financial resources wisely. There’s a lot of. Lot of things.

Retirement Budget

Madison: Okay, so what is a retirement budget and why should retirees create one?

Mike: Sure. Retirement budget is a financial plan that outlines expected income and expenses during retirement. It’s crucial. Right. To manage your finances effectively, ensure you have enough income to cover your expenses and avoid financial stress in retirement. You know, there’ll be other stress in retirement. If you could avoid the financial stress, your retirement would be a little bit smoother.

Physical and Mental Health Management

Madison: Yeah, absolutely. So what steps can retirees take to proactively manage their physical and mental health in retirement?

Mike: Sure. Retirees can prioritize regular exercise, maintain health, a balanced diet, stay socially engaged, seek preventive health care, manage stress, and consider pursuing new interests or hobbies to promote overall well being. You know, it’s well rounded. It’s like the whole mind body spirit thing. You need to take care of yourself.

Essential Legal Documents

Madison: Yep. So what legal documents should retirees ensure are in place to address estate planning and healthcare decisions?

Mike: Sure. So the essential legal documents include a will and maybe a living trust, durable power of attorney, healthcare proxy, advanced healthcare director and HIPAA authorizations. These documents help manage your financial and healthcare matters in retirement. And they’re important. Everybody needs them.

Balance in Retirement

Madison: Yep. So what strategies can retirees use to strike a balance between relaxation and staying active during retirement?

Mike: You’re never going to believe this, Maddie, but I’m going to say you have to plan. You know, so you create a schedule. It includes time for relaxation and leisure while also incorporating activities, you know, like volunteering, hobbies, traveling, part time work. You know, a lot of, I think keeping it varied to stay mentally and physically active is a great idea.

Financial Strategies

Madison: Yeah. All right, so what financial strategies can retirees employ to make their retirement savings last longer and ensure financial security in retirement?

Mike: Yep. So strategies include, you know, careful budgeting, managing investment risk, maybe delaying Social Security, and if you need to, maybe explore a reverse mortgage, or sometimes people downsize to access home equity. That strategy has not worked as well as I think people used to think that it would. When I was getting into this business 25 years ago, I think people thought it would be a normal thing to downsize. But now when people go to downsize, unless they have a really big, extravagant home, like the size smaller home is not much less expensive. They’re not freeing up a lot of equity. So it’s something to possibly consider. But it’s probably not as easy as we were all led to believe 20 or 30 years ago.

Madison: Times have changed.

Mike: Times have changed.

Maintaining Relationships

Madison: All right, so what steps can retirees take to maintain and strengthen their relationships with family and friends during retirement?

Mike: Sure, start working on it now. Prioritize spending quality time with your loved ones. Quantity time, too. Staying in touch to regular communication. Participating group activities. Make an effort to build new social connections to foster. Meaningful relationships in retirement. Look, it’s hard, you know, if you’re not, if you don’t live with somebody, even if you do live with somebody, sometimes it’s hard to communicate a lot. And, you know, if people are spread out across the country or you don’t see them all the time, it takes work, but I think it’s work that’s rewarded. Look at it as an investment. Right. I mean, when it comes down to it, most of us only have fairly limited number of people that were, that we’re real close with and we’re going to spend a lot of time with. So make sure you do what you can to develop and keep those relationships strong. It’s not a bad thing to strike up new relationships, meet new friends. You know, one of the things, with my wife, we joined the golf course, the country club, six, / seven years ago. My wife has met a lot of friends there and, you know, a lot of women that she really likes spending time with and staying active. You know, it has wound up being a great choice. I didn’t get it at first. I’m all in now, though.

Madison: Yeah, absolutely.

Mike: I’m saying this on a recording. She was right.

Madison: Yeah. I mean, that goes for any hobby. I mean, you start to meet people that are interested the same thing as you, and you build relationships that way. Yeah. It’s very important.

Mike: It really is.

Conclusion

Madison: Very important for the mental health, like we talked about earlier. All right, so thank you, everyone, for joining us for our five point series. Thank you, Mike, for all the helpful information.

Mike: Thanks for coming up with the great topics and the questions. Maddie, great job.

Madison: Awesome. All right, so for more information on Yardley Wealth Management or Yardley Estate Planning, you can visit our website at yardleywealth.net, and yardlyestate.net. you can also follow us on socials at Yardley Wealth Management. This podcast has been produced by Madison Demora and Mike Garry with technical and artistic help from Poe Productions.