One of the biggest concerns that just
about every adult in this country has is
how they're going to get by in retirement.
It's not something that'll happn
by accident. It requires planni.
And what is here on to us to
talk about it is Jack Arbor.
He's a certified financial
planner who runs JM Arbor,
a wealth management company in Halliwell.
Thanks for coming in.
Good to have you.
We should also mention that your latest book,
the latest of four or five,
is called The Ultimate Guide
to Retirement Income Planning.
You start off the book, Jack,
by noting that the number one concern
that people have about retiremet
is that they will run out of mo.
Is that justified?
It is. The average retiree
today has about $126,000 in
investable assets today to reti.
And what we're seeing is people
are living longer today,
the average person is living ben
25 and 30 years in retirement,
which is a long time.
So, you know, people living that long,
they're thinking with the
markets being volatile,
pensions going away.
Will I have enough money to live
rest of my life and be comforta?
The
number two concern that people ,
and it's it's kind of tied into this,
is will they be able to
maintain their lifestyle?
Are they going to be able to sot
of keep living the way they havr
are they going to have to cut b?
Is that a reasonable concern?
It is. You know,
we see it all the time.
We see rising prices with infla.
Right now we're seeing about
7:00 or 8% when people retire.
One of the largest goals that
we typically hear upfront is,
you know if I can maintain my lifestyle,
I'll be happy.
One of the questions we typically ask
is what would you like to enhance your
lifestyle and for a lot of peope
that has never really been a thought.
So oftentimes just putting toger
a plan to maintain that lifesty,
but also look at the simple this
that a person can do to enhance.
When
you're talking with the clients,
one of the first things that you do is
you ask them to fill out a monthly budget
worksheet where they put down everything,
how much they spend on. Gasolin,
how much they spend on electric,
rent, taxes, food, the whole th.
Why is that so important to get a get a
sense of where the money is going? Well,
we believe a house is
very much like a business.
We have money coming in and
we have money going out.
At the end of the day,
it's great to have a surplus,
which is money left over,
which we call discretionary inc.
That's money that you can
put in anything you want.
Mostly it goes towards fun,
travel and what retirees
are really looking to do.
Do most people have a good sensf
where they're spending their mo,
of where it's going? Yeah,
that's a very good question.
I would say the number one thing
that a financial advisor can brg
to the table for value is helpig
a person create a written plan,
because most people who do reti.
It's kind of one of those
numbers that's up in the air.
Will I have enough?
How long will it last?
And having a written plan is
something that will show somebo,
you know, whether they're on trk
to have a surplus or a shortfal.
But yeah, it's a question
that most people have.
Will I have enough?
So for people who are starting o
think about retirement and and people
start at really wildly varying ,
some people started thinking abt
it when they're in the early 20.
Some don't start thinking about
it until they're in their 60s.
Maybe in retirement is just
a year or two away.
But what's the first step people
should take? Well,
The funny thing is, is that when I ask
people when do you want to reti,
I often get the comical answer of tomorrow.
But the first step that I would say a
person should take is to really take a
hard look at the numbers and to know what
those numbers are in terms of the income.
What the expenses in retiremente
going to be. And then when we're
filling out that worksheet, we may know,
you know, the answers in terms f
what things are going to cost.
But we also have to ask what are they
going to cost tomorrow and whate
the costs that we have that we w
for a fact will change and by how much.
A lot of people rely on a number
of different sources of income,
Maybe Social Security,
maybe they've got some savings,
maybe they've got a pension,
a small pension, maybe they don.
But for a lot of people,
Social Security is really where
they begin and it's one of the
important legs of the stool.
Right now, the projections are,
I believe, that the Social Secuy
trust fund will not be able to
meet its obligations in 2034,
just a decade out.
How concerned should people be
about whether Social Security,
the Social Security they expect to get,
will be there for them?
I'm very confident that it will be there.
It may look a little bit differ.
The amount that they get
also might be different.
We're constantly seeing changesm
the administration in return in regards
to how Social Security is paid .
For example, Social Security starts at 62.
People can take it as late as 7.
People used to file what are
called restricted applications
claim on their spouse.
Some of those were phased out in 2020.
So when you're looking at this,
you also have to ask the questi,
do I have a pension,
whether it's from a private employer,
a state or the federal governme?
And the other reason for that i,
is because we know that the avee
retiree who will be hitting retirement
in 10 to 15 years from now or m,
we are told from the Social Secy
Administration that about 80% of
that income will come from sours
that they created for themselve.
I think a really important takey
from the book is that people shouldn't
stick their head in their sand f
they're not comfortable with the idea
of thinking about retirement planning.
If they're worried that they'ret
going to have money, to just ige
the future is not the way to go.
Yeah, Social Security average check this
year in 2023 is about $1700 per year.
So the answer, I'm sorry, thank.
Yes, $7000 per month.
So the answer is, is we want tok
outside of Social Security and see what
we can put away for ourselves. k
Arbor, the name of the book,
is The Ultimate Guide to Retiret
Income, Retirement Income Plann.