Late Life Planning 101

Each stage of our life presents unique challenges. As investors, such an evolution represents a transition in how we deal with each unique solution to the challenges we face over a lifetime.

One day, we might wake up and realize that things are changing again, meaning we're faced with new questions that we've never had to answer before. These can include:

"Where do I want to live?"
"Will I have enough money to retire?"
"What are my resources?"

All of these types of questions can be daunting and create a tremendous amount of confusion and stress in our daily lives. During such times of changing life circumstances, some investors might find that financial services representatives and brokers will be especially aggressive in pitching you with ideas and sales pitches that weren't a concern in the past.

For my clients, I've found that breaking such life planning issues into simple-to-follow steps can be a good way to start tackling any question and avoid a sense of becoming overwhelmed by the whole process. Here are some suggestions to help proactively deal with such an undertaking without letting it control you:

Step 1: Have the conversation. Work with an independent professional wealth manager who can help guide you through the process and answer any questions you might run into, both now and in the future. Examples of issues that can present themselves later in life include:

Insurance Needs
Reverse Mortgages
Living Options & Costs
How to generate portfolio income
How to transfer assets to heirs

Step 2: Evaluate your options. It's important to understand that you have choices. An advisor who is acting as a true fiduciary on your behalf should present multiple options and provide you with recommendations based on what's in your best interests.

Step 3: Commit to your plan. Like a coach, my role as your personal wealth manager is to serve as a quarterback to help guide you through your financial concerns over a lifetime.

For more information on how we can help with your personalized late life financial plan, please contact Denise Delaney at 949-428-0457 or [email protected].

This is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, recommendation, or endorsement of any particular security, product or service. There are no guarantees investment strategies will be successful. Investing involves risks, including possible loss of principal.

About Index Fund Advisors

Index Fund Advisors, Inc. (IFA) is a fee-only advisory and wealth management firm that provides risk-appropriate, returns-optimized, globally-diversified and tax-managed investment strategies with a fiduciary standard of care.

Founded in 1999, IFA is a Registered Investment Adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that provides investment advice to individuals, trusts, corporations, non-profits, and public and private institutions. Based in Irvine, California, IFA manages individual and institutional accounts, including IRA, 401(k), 403(b), profit sharing, pensions, endowments and all other investment accounts. IFA also facilitates IRA rollovers from 401(k)s and 403(b)s.

SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission nor does it indicate that the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability.

About the Author

Denise Delaney - Senior Vice President, Wealth Advisor, CFP®

Denise specializes in advising a range of clients including younger families and high net worth individuals to those in the later stages of life and who may require complex financial, estate, and long-term care planning needs. She also has many years of experience in advising investment committees for endowments, foundations and pension plans, as well as working with companies to construct highly diversified, low-cost 401(k) retirement solutions for their employees.

— Risk Capacity —

Survey

Please estimate when you will need to withdraw 20% of your current portfolio value, such as a need for a house down payment or some other major financial need.