Retirement planning New vision for the future
Few could have predicted the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had, and will continue to have, on our world, our community, and our nest eggs. It has changed how we socialize, drastically impacted how we do business, and made us rethink how we invest. When these sorts of once-in-a-lifetime events occur, it brings to light the importance of how you start to plan for retirement, or how you can adjust retirement plans already in place.
Your current financial situation
Several months ago, you may have maxed out your employer match, worked to aggressively pay off your mortgage, and planned for how to cover rising tuition costs or the cost of caring for an aging parent, all while saving for retirement.
Trying to balance all the “usual” challenges of retirement planning is reason alone to seek out a financial advisor who can work for you, in partnership with a tax advisor and an attorney, to help manage your finances. Amid today’s health and economic crisis, the need to work with a team of advisors who will help you plan for the immediate and long term is even greater. This team of experts, such as the advisors at Chelsea Groton Financial Services with Infinex Investments, Inc., will work together with your best interests in mind.
The experts at Chelsea Groton Financial Services take a holistic approach to helping you map out your financial plan in preparation for retirement. Upon meeting, the advisors will ask you about your personal and professional lives, as well as financial obligations, priorities, dreams and goals, including the following: • Do you have a 401k, 403b, or 457 plan with a current or previous employer? Is it invested properly for your pending or current retirement?
• Do you receive Social Security? Have you
registered on SSA.com?
• Do you have a life insurance policy that has been reviewed recently? Does it still protect you and your family?
• How much debt do you have? Do you have enough life insurance and/or assets to cover it if something happens to you?
• Do you plan to downsize or move before or after you retire?
Are you planning to help pay for the education of children or grandchildren?
Are you interested in contributing to the cost of weddings for children or grandchildren? Will you need to financially support your parents as they age?
Have you written a will? When is the last time you reviewed it?
• How many accounts do you have and can you easily monitor and verify their balances? What is your risk-tolerance? Has the recent market downturn caused you to question if you are taking on too much risk?
In addition to reviewing your goals, your Chelsea Groton Financial Services advisor will use a risk alignment system called Riskalyze to identify your risk number. Your risk number, developed based on your responses to a range of questions, is a good indicator of your risk tolerance. Your advisor will discuss the risk number with you to confirm its accuracy before using it to develop your investment strategy. Your advisor will also use Riskalyze’s analytics to compare that risk number with your current and outside holdings. By setting portfolio return expectations based on risk instead of average return, clients are better informed. Risk tolerance is an important factor in developing a customized, comprehensive financial plan.
Planning ahead
Following an initial meeting—which can occur over the phone, by video conference, or in person—the Chelsea Groton advisors will help you create a road map, which will serve to guide you on how to take the hard-earned money you’re actively making during your working years, and allocate it to support your dreams, goals, and obligations in retirement.
Chelsea Groton’s financial team regularly reviews your road map and situation with you. As circumstances change, be it personal goals and obligations or a global health and economic crisis, an advisor will work with you to modify your expected income, expenses, and appropriate diversification of your portfolio so you’ll always have the security of a well thought-out plan. Diversification is a method of helping to manage risk; it does not assure a profit or the avoidance of loss.
“When a crisis hits, many people turn to their financial institution for guidance and assistance,” explained John Uyeki, SVP, Director of Financial Services, Chelsea Groton Bank; Financial Advisor, Infinex Investments, Inc. “Many larger institutions are advising clients to visit their website or FAQ pages for tips on what to do. At Chelsea Groton, we have resources online, but we also reach out to every single client of ours to check in, answer questions, and talk through options. We get to know our clients on a personal level, and we’re committed to supporting clients through difficult times.”
Investments with employers
“One of the conversations we have with new clients trying to plan for retirement involves helping them identify their assets and regular spending,” said Uyeki. “Often, clients know what’s in their bank account and what they owe on their house, but they don’t always know how much money they have in investments and where those investments are. It happens more often than you’d like to think. People change jobs, get divorced or remarried, and somehow some of their finances get lost in the shuffle.”
Whether by choice or circumstance, people change employers throughout their careers. Oftentimes, they either forget about the retirement savings accounts held with the previous employer once a job change is made, or no longer check in on those investments on a regular basis. If you are guilty of not keeping tabs on the 401(k) you used to contribute to with a previous employer, a Chelsea Groton Financial Services advisor can help identify the investments and assets you have, and potentially consolidate them to make it more manageable.
There are many publicly traded companies that match 401(k) contributions with employer stock. While employed, having ownership of that stock can symbolize loyalty to the company. However, once you retire or move to another company, being fully invested in a single stock adds unnecessary risk. A financial advisor can work with you to decrease that risk and develop a portfolio that can meet your goals and risk tolerance as you grow older and more dependent on that income.
A holistic approach
The advisors at Chelsea Groton Financial Services take a holistic approach to planning, discussing each insurance and investment product option that could suit your needs, as well as how taxes will impact* your retirement income. Perhaps it’s the right time to consider bringing some of the investments made with a previous employer over to an IRA.** Or maybe it’s time to have an advisor review the holdings you have to make sure they are still in line with your goals.
Retirees and pre-retirees (age 40-plus) should meet with a financial advisor at least once per year to discuss saving for their future or maximizing current income. Reviewing your spending, savings, and current anticipated retirement income will allow you to see the whole picture and what needs to be adjusted.
“I can’t stress enough the importance of reviewing investments regularly and knowing where everything is,” continued Uyeki. “Once we know your true finan
cial situation, our team will be able to help you properly allocate investments to support your short- and long-term goals. But the first step in being able to do so is for you to know what you currently have.”
Chelsea Groton Financial Services has helped people navigate their personal highs and lows, and the highs and lows of the economy for almost two decades. They’ve supported customers as personal and professional milestones were sought and reached, including marriage, first homes, and finally opening that small business. They’ve worked with individuals as they plan to pay for the education of children, the care of parents, and the house near the water they’ve always dreamt of retiring in. And, they’ve helped clients strategize and make plans when things weren’t going their way.
At the end of the day, the advisors at Chelsea Groton Financial Services want you to be comfortable with an investment strategy that can work for you and your new vision for the future.
About Chelsea Groton Financial Services Investment and insurance products and services are offered through INFINEX INVESTMENTS, INC. Member FINRA / SIPC. Chelsea Groton Financial Services is a trade name of the Bank. Infinex and the Bank are not affiliated. Products and services made available through Infinex are not insured by the FDIC or any other agency of the United States and are not deposits or obligations of nor guaranteed or insured by any bank or bank affiliate. These products are subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of value.
*We do not provide tax advice. Consult your tax advisor.
**Available alternatives may include retaining the funds in the former employers’ plan, transferring to a new employer’s plan, rolling over to an IRA, or cashing out.