Retire with Safety and Security

By Brent Meyer — SafeMoney.com Founder & Editor Reviewed by Licensed Financial Professionals  |  SafeMoney.com — Trusted Since 2011  |  Updated Regularly Quick Answer: Discover how to retire with safety and security using safe money alternatives. Explore guaranteed solutions today! Visit SafeMoney.com. Dr. Wade Pfau is a leading expert on the subject of retirement. He is the Professor of Retirement Income at The American College of Financial Services and is also Co-Director at the New York Life Center for Retirement Income. Dr. Pfau has made many powerful contributions in the field of retirement income planning . One is adding insights to the ‘safety-first’ school of retirement planning thought, or where a retirement plan is built on a safety-first approach. How a Safety-First Approach Can Help with Financial Stress In an interview with Wharton School of Business podcast knowledge@wharton , Dr. Pfau talked about how retirees can reduce the amount of financial stress that they feel after they stop working. Here are some highlights from that interview. It’s good to keep these things in mind as we plan for our own financial futures. Three Primary Retirement Concerns Most retirees and pre-retirees have three main worries when it comes to finances. Longer Living The first worry is related to longevity. People are living longer than ever now, and this makes retirement more expensive. Many retirees today can expect to live for another 30 years after they stop working. This makes saving for retirement more vital than ever. Having Enough Retirement Money The second worry is spending your money during retirement. You need to create a stable spending plan for your post-career years so that you don’t run out of money. Your spending plan should also be able to handle unexpected financial expenses. Those may include major illness or long-term care. Market Ups and Downs The third worry is market volatility . Your retirement portfolio is also particularly vulnerable to market losses in the red zone: ten years before you retire and the ten years after you retire. Sequence of returns counts for the most at this juncture. It’s good to watch how your investments are performing (but within reason, especially if you are prone to knee-jerk reactions in down-market situations). A major market loss during this period can seriously affect your ability to retire when you want. It may force you to work longer than you had planned. Your financial professi