As the baby boom generation continues to retire, more and more financial planners will be dealing with the distribution phase of their client’s financial lives. Last month I shared some of the most common investment issues that are not understood by those in or approaching retirement. Today I’ll highlight some non-investment issues.

I’ll Be Able To Relax And Not Worry About Saving

After a lifetime of squirreling away money and delaying gratification, many retirees still fret about their spending. In some cases, they worry more as retirees than they did when they were in the work force.

When one is working, if they show up on time and do a decent job, they get a paycheck. Usually, that feels like a dynamic they can control. Many of the vagaries of financial markets don’t bother workers much because they believe they can probably keep the paychecks coming.

In retirement, economic, political and financial market gyrations can cause a lot of anxiety. One of the important tasks of a good advisor to retirees is helping them manage or change their perspective about these things so they won’t worry themselves into making bad decisions.

Other unknowns can be just as puzzling and distressing. Which accounts do I pull from first? How long will I live? Will my pension stay solvent? Will Social Security be altered? Will I need significant health care or long-term care? Will a family member need some financial help?

Retirement can be low stress, but it takes planning, perspective and a different skill set from what is required leading up to retirement.

My Kids Will Be Off ‘The Payroll’

Maybe, maybe not. Ideally, our children blossom into adulthood and can sustain themselves without our financial support. Unfortunately, they have the same problem that the rest of us do. We are all human.

The kids can be downsized at work. They can get sick or injured. They can battle addictions. They can get ripped off or embroiled in a legal dispute. Or, just struggle to make enough to stay independent. The list is endless.

No matter how sure a client is that they are not paying for things for children once the nest empties, there are events that simply cannot be ignored. Will a client really say no when one of their kids needs money for a beloved grandchild’s medical care? Or refuse to help pay for a lawyer to get a daughter out of an abusive relationship? Probably not, so we need to be prepared to help them assess the long-term ramifications of helping out.

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