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2. Will we have enough money along the way?
Once you know what you’re aiming for, you can start figuring out the price tag, right?
Yes, and no.
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You need to know what your retirement will cost, but ‘price tags’ are things that apply to a one-off purchase – the hot tub you splash out on will have a price tag, but we’re not just dealing with one-off purchases here.
It’s important to remember that retirement isn’t an ending – it’s a phase of your life that could last many years. The average lifespan in Ireland today is 80 for men and 84 for women – that’s just the average of course, so you could be retired for 20 years, or 25 years, or maybe longer.
While there’s an element of ‘reward’ to retirement, your pay-off for a life well lived, there’s much more to it than that. It’s about how you’ll continue living the best life possible with the money you have, for as long as you can.
Eric Arnold was a man who knew about perspective.
He climbed Everest several times in his career and when asked what he’d learned, he said something very interesting:
“Two-thirds of the accidents happen on the way down. If you get euphoric and think ‘I’ve reached my goal,’ the most dangerous part is still ahead of you.”
A little morbid? Maybe, but if it is, then it’s only to underline a key point. You only get one life, and whether you spend it scaling Everest or staying at sea level, it’s precious. You want to be happy on the day you retire, but you’ll still want to be happy and fulfilled a few years down the line.
We frequently remind clients to #StickWithThePlan and it’s just as true of retirement as it is for the years that come before it. As your financial planners, we’ll make sure your plan continues to evolve with you, keeps step with your risk profile and stays aligned to your goals.
