Early Retirement Planning
Financial Retirement Planning for Realists
Early retirement can inspire dreams of relaxing on a beach, committing to volunteer work or mastering new hobbies. If you could quit today, what would your life look like?
A Windward advisor can help you answer the next logical question: If you quit today, how would you pay for it? Whether you have global dreams or ‘give back’ aspirations for your next chapter, thoughtful and proactive early retirement planning, can be your reality.
Is It Time to Start Early Retirement Planning?
Early retirement obviously has a huge appeal. But how do you know if you’re ready to take the plunge? The following qualifications could indicate readiness:
- Your children are financially independent.
- You don’t have any debt.
- Your portfolio can stand up to investment risks.
During a financial planning session, we’ll talk with you about the various angles of retirement readiness. As your financial retirement planning partner, we may even suggest conducting an early retirement “dress rehearsal.” Calculate how much you’d need to live on in early retirement, and lock yourself into that constraint for six months. If you can live on this presumed retirement income, you could be ready for early retirement.
Approaching Early Retirement Planning
Early retirement planning focuses on developing and implementing strategies to replace your regular, steady income. This calls for continuous balancing of risk and return in your investments.
If retirement is an engine that you want to keep chugging along, you need fuel (smart, long-term investments) and a spark to bring the engine to life. The spark can happen a few different ways, including:
- Working hard, saving a lot and living frugally
- Selling a business for a profit
- Dealing with company stock options
- Inheriting assets
- Getting damages from a legal settlement
- Winning the lottery (unlikely, but it happens!)
Your early retirement “spark” will be unique to you. A Windward advisor will help you discover the most realistic method to ignite your early retirement.
Use Early Retirement Planning to Overcome Risks
One of the benefits of early retirement planning : You can overcome the pitfalls of bowing out early, including:
- Underestimating savings. You don’t want to spend it all in the first decade of your retirement. Through financial retirement planning, a Windward advisor can help you project, with confidence, how much you will need to live in retirement.
- Getting bored. Stepping away from the daily grind has its appeal. But don’t underestimate the call to do meaningful work. A Windward advisor can offer you holistic perspective on what’s at stake if you walk away too soon.
- Providing unexpected support. Maybe a child will move back in. Perhaps a parent will get sick. In early retirement, there’s more time for life’s unplanned (and expensive) events. A Windward advisor can help you budget for the unexpected.
Windward Wealth Strategies advisors have helped other early retirees develop customized strategies for these risks and more. Our goal is to develop a personalized, long-term plan for your long and happy retirement.
Partners in Early Retirement Planning
Financial independence is earned and ongoing. Early retirement planning is not a one-and-done operation. The process looks different for different investors, because the people who opt for early retirement are diverse.
A Windward advisor can help you plan a stimulating early retirement with a sustainable lifestyle. Or if you’ve been planning an early retirement for years, Windward can help you troubleshoot the challenges you may have overlooked. Either way, you’ll get an education in financial retirement planning to help put your financial dreams within reach.
We invite you to discover even more about retirement planning: