Submitted by McBeath Financial Group
Let’s face it. Sometimes you can do everything right, and it still feels like you end up getting a raw deal. You want to scream your frustrations at the world. You might even cry yourself to sleep at night, so worried about your family and your future that you can’t imagine moving forward. So, what are you supposed to do now?
One of the best ways to snap yourself out of an angry, disappointed, despairing state of mind is to simply formulate a plan. It doesn’t have to be a comprehensive, this-one-idea-will-solve-everything plan, it just has to be a step forward — it just has to be the next step.
Meet Steve. Steve did everything right. A three-sport athlete in high school, he went on to college, earned good grades, and secured a great job with a Fortune 500 company before he even graduated.
Five years into his new job, Steve had already earned a couple of promotions, and his co-workers fixed him up with Marla, a wonderful woman who was on a fast-track career path at the same company. As it turned out, they were a great match, so they got married, bought a nice house, had three kids, and continued to rise through the ranks at work, all the while following the traditional advice about saving 10 to 15 percent of their income and building up a nice retirement savings account.
Steve and Marla just celebrated their thirtieth wedding anniversary. Their youngest son finishes college next year, and they’re looking forward to spending time with each other again when they retire, six or seven years from now.
They’ve done everything right, from beginning to end, but they just found out that due to some organizational changes at their company, they both have the option to take a buyout before the end of the year or they’re going to get laid off by the end of the next calendar quarter.
“Wait. What?” they think. “We did everything right. We’ve given 30 years of our lives to this company. How can they do this to us?”
Sadly, in today’s world, this scenario is more common than one might think. In these difficult times, after the emotion has subsided, it may be time to consider options. Is accepting an early retirement really an option, or does their current financial position in relation to their age mean that they will need to continue working? These are answers that are very difficult to make without a detailed financial analysis and stress-tested computer projections.
Many clients in Steve and Marla’s situation have the same fears and concerns. The sort of “forced retirement” situation that they’re in makes them re-examine their retirement plans and, in many cases, adds extra years that their savings will now have to cover. Many times, they’ve never gone without a regular paycheck, and now they need to figure out how to take their retirement savings, social security, and other assets and convert those into a reliable source of income for their family. It’s intimidating to even think about.
In these situations, it’s wise to seek the advice of a professional A financial planner who specializes in retirement planning for corporate employees can advise those in such circumstances to look at the entire financial picture before making retirement and investment decisions. A professional plan can put one’s mind at ease in a time of stress, so they they can have confidence knowing that their financial future is stable.
Krista McBeath is a Chartered Financial Consultant, a Licensed Insurance Advisor, a Fiduciary, and an experienced tax advisor who specializes in financial planning, investments, taxes and insurance. McBeath Financial Group’s innovative Technology Empowered Advisor Method (TEAM) is a financial planning process that integrates the personal touch of a relationship-based advisor with high tech software tools to assess a client’s current portfolio and then analyze options from a variety of financial vehicles. Phone 309-808-2224 or email
krista@mcbeathfinancial.com for appointment information.
Advisory services are offered through McBeath Financial Group and Motiv8 Investments, LLC. McBeath Financial Group and Motiv8 Investments, LLC are not affiliated. Insurance products and services are offered through McBeath Tax and Financial Services, LLC. McBeath Financial Group and McBeath Tax and Financial Services, LLC. are affiliated.