In the email Ramona sounded in a rush to get started. “I’d like to set an appointment soon. I hope you’re taking new clients. I am close to retiring, hoping to leave my job next year. My husband, Alex, is younger than me, and won’t be retiring for a while. He doesn’t trust that our nest egg will last if I quit now. I’m afraid that I’m kidding myself too and I really don’t have enough money to stop working yet. He worries that the pressure’s all going to end up on him to keep working forever. But I’ve had enough and want to get out as soon as I can. And I have saved up quite a bit. Do you have any time to meet with me in the next couple of days?”
I told her that we would be able to create retirement projections together that would either reassure her that she can retire in 2010 or that will clarify how much longer she needs to keep working. I didn’t know how much they had saved or how much her husband will continue to earn, so I didn’t want to give her false hope until we’ve run the numbers.
“One thing that you should bring to our first meeting, along with your investment statements, is six months to a year’s worth of bank statements. From these we can clarify how much you have been living on recently. “ A retirement projection is dependent on the accuracy of the amount of annual expenses. So I try to get actual expense figures, not just estimates. I also need to get a clear understanding of each individual or couple’s lifestyle before retirement as well as their vision of what retirement means to them. Some people don’t mind doing some consulting or part-time work after they retire from their long term job. Others are dying for the free time to spend on their hobbies and to travel extensively, thus needing to spend more than before.
“If you use Quicken or some type of expense tracker, such as mint.com, bring along the expense detail as well. A social security statement is important, and a list of your ongoing debts. ”
We agreed to meet two weeks from Wednesday at 4:00. Ramona told me that she felt a little more peace of mind already knowing that she didn’t have to figure it all out herself.
