It’s a wrap

It’s been quite a week. Quite a month, in fact, tying up loose ends at work, enjoying the Holidays, and mentally preparing for what lies ahead. I found myself thinking a lot about the many challenges faced in my career, the grind that it became at times, but also how fortunate I have been.

I benefited in my career from almost every advantage one could have – where and even when I was born, the language spoken in our household, the nation in which I was raised, the education I was provided, the many opportunities given to me over the years to be of value to others, the good health to be able to pursue those opportunities, access to the world’s best tools and resources for my profession, the tolerance and support of family, friends, coworkers and clients, the list is almost endless.

And then, as if that weren’t enough, some of you have seen fit the last few weeks to bless me with some very kind comments, good wishes for my future, and even some accolades. It’s almost like being at my own wake, but I get to hear what everyone is saying. In fact, it’s better than that – I get to hear only the good stuff!

I know that these kind statements reflect your goodness as much as my achievements, but it has been wonderful to hear. There is no greater legacy for me than to have positively influenced the lives of others. Hopefully, I was able to do that for you.

I wish you the very best in the coming year and beyond. I’ll be thinking of you. Take care. Bye-bye.

Expectations and remembrances

We’re down to the last two of these weekly communications. I thought I’d share a final thought about me and my retirement this week and some thoughts about you next week.

I have been asked several times in various ways if I’m looking forward to getting out from under the stress and pressure of the workplace. I hadn’t really thought about retirement in those terms. I have learned over the years to coexist quite well with the vagaries of the investment markets and our performance relative thereto. Most of the pressure to “perform” has been self-imposed, and will continue into retirement. But, as I thought about it, I realized there are two other forms of pressure I’ve felt and that are probably unavoidable aspects of almost any career. And, these I am indeed looking forward to escaping.

The first is the pressure to always know what anyone might expect you to know. Or, more accurately, to appear to know whatever anyone might expect. If you do know, but you can’t communicate it and convey confidence, it can be almost the same as not knowing. And, if you don’t know, but can make a reasonable judgment and are willing to admit your ignorance (to yourself and others), that is often almost as good as knowing. But, either way, this pressure to know is probably the primary “early career” type of work pressure most people have to endure.

Later in a career, a solid foundation of knowledge/experience/judgment has largely been acquired (or you aren’t still in that career), but then another pressure develops. It may even be partially a result of all this knowledge/experience/judgment that has been accumulated (along with an at least equal volume of less useful . . . stuff). But, I’m afraid it’s mostly caused by simple age-related mental deterioration. Either way, it’s no longer pressure to know that dominates, it’s pressure to remember.

So, yes, it will be nice to escape the work-related stress I’ve felt over the years – first the pressure to know, and then pressure to merely remember. Although, I assume there already was a period mid-career when I felt neither. Or, maybe both? I don’t know. Or, at least I can’t remember.

And, at my age, you shouldn’t expect me to.

How old are you . . . really?

One of the many imponderables involved in planning one’s retirement finances is the time horizon – financial advisor-speak for the length of time remaining before you die. You need to at least make a guess at this to properly plan your retirement finances. Not an easy topic, but as is so often the case anymore, our government is there to help (with the planning part, not the dying . . . yet.)

Go to www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/table4c6.html to see a table showing your life expectancy at any age. It says the average newborn male today will live to 74. The average 65 year old male has another 16 years left. Both of these time horizons strike me as way too short. And, outliving your money is one of the greatest risks faced by retirees.

So, you really need a better estimate, one that reflects your particular lifestyle, habits, etc. That’s just what you will find at www.livingto100.com. This site provides lots of advice for extending your life expectancy (a good thing in most non-financial respects), but the primary feature is an extensive questionnaire you can fill out (free, online), after which it will tell you your life expectancy. Cool!

One thing it will ask you, of course is your current age. For those of you who, after years of lying about it, aren’t really sure anymore just what your age actually is, I am providing herewith a simple yet remarkably accurate age calculator. Try it, and let me know how it worked for you.

1. How many times a week do you think about your age or aging (any number 1 through 9)?
2. I don’t believe you. Double it.
3. I still don’t believe you. Add 5.
4. Thinking ahead . . ., multiply it by 50.
5. If you have already had your birthday this year, add 1757. If not, add 1756.
6. Subtract the year you were born.

That leaves a three-digit number. The first digit is how many times weekly you claimed you think about your age. Silly you, huh!?

The remaining two numbers are your age.

Really.

Let’s get serious

Wow. Here we are in my last month of writing this blog, and I realize that there are several helpful retirement-related references I’ve run across that I haven’t told you about yet. So, I’ll make this issue all business – a list of what I think are some of the most helpful references for the two most common retirement questions.

1. How do I go about getting financially prepared for retirement; where do I start? Whether you want to do-it-yourself or work with a financial advisor, you will be more comfortable with the process, and are likely to be more successful, if you understand how to approach it and what it’s all about. You can piecemeal this learning process by spending a lifetime reading articles (like mine) and listening to those who are living the process (like me), or you can dedicate several evenings over a few weeks learning about the process front to back, fully, and correctly. If you want to consider the latter, UC-Irvine offers an excellent overview course online. And, it’s free. Go to http://ocw.uci.edu/courses/AR0102092/. It will go fast (some evenings, you won’t want to quit), and you will always be glad you did it.

2. How can I figure out how and when to take my (our) Social Security and other retirement benefits? Here, you may want to check a few different sources. Start at ssa.gov to estimate your benefit under various assumptions using any of three calculators – Quick, Online, and Detailed (click “Calculate your benefits”). Also check out the other calculators like “Retirement Age” and “Breakeven” to compare benefits starting at different ages. There is a wealth of information here (that’s part of the challenge, of course), so plan to visit it a few times taking little bites of information each visit. Also look at analyzenow.com; it may be easier to navigate and has a couple of great calculators. After at least scanning these two, check out a paper at pensionresearchcouncil.org, “Working Papers,” “2007,” “Rethinking Social Security Claiming in a 401(k) World.”

Ideally, of course, you would do this well before your retirement so you have time to formulate and execute your ideal game plan. But, if that option is no longer available, don’t give up. Spend every other evening for one full month doing this kind of self-education, and you’ll have a good, basic understanding of the issues and options, and a much better shot at living a financially secure retirement.

I wish you well!