Retire By 60

Teri and Jonathan

Ages: 52 and 52 with a 12 year old child

Goal Summary: Teri and Jonathan are nearing the retirement finish line and would like to set themselves up to start other businesses.

Main Goals

• Retire from corporate jobs by 60
• Potentially start other businesses
  
• Help pay for their child’s college education
  
• Maximize investments leading into retirement
  
• Prepare for future income needs
  
• Consider social security decisions
  
• Protect their wealth over time
  
• Evaluate various healthcare costs

Obstacles

Teri and Jonathan have worked hard for over thirty years and can finally see the retirement finish line. Their view of retirement is different from traditional retirement plans. Teri would like to officially stop working and Jonathan would like to continue doing odds and ends. Then, after Teri has settled into retirement, she would like to build another business and be the boss. As we approach retirement in this timeframe, we need to be particularly careful that we are saving the proper amount in the proper investments. We want to avoid any sequence of returns risk that could ruin potential income. It is important to avoid withdrawing money for income when assets are worth less – think 2008 to 2009.

We also need to confirm that higher education for their child is a top priority, and that we can pay for as many college expenses as possible. This can be challenging when deciding how important retirement is versus funding a college education. As important as furthering their child’s education is, we can’t let it ruin Teri and Jonathan’s retirement goals.

Since early retirement is valuable, we need to make sure that healthcare costs are accounted for through Medicare. Even when Teri and Jonathan get to an age where Medicare is a viable option, healthcare costs still need to be prepared for – because Medicare, in reality, covers very little.

Things To Watch For

• A proper savings rate
  
• Limiting spending
  
• Keeping goals at the forefront
  
• Evaluating social security
  
• Managing investments and retirement accounts properly
  
• Preparing for healthcare
  
• Fine-tuning income needs
  
• Evaluating college expenses

First Places To Start

Do a comprehensive breakdown of Teri and Jonathan’s entire financial picture. We need to know all of the current details about where they are at in their finances. Primarily, there needs to be an assessment to gauge whether or not an early retirement is completely possible.

Once the situation is thoroughly evaluated, we can start to create actionable items that work towards building their goals. This evaluation may take some time, but it is crucial that it is completed before anything else.

Current Outcome

We are gathering information and creating confidence in the future!