Retirement Investing

Done!

You grew up, got married, raised well-adjusted children, worked long and hard, invested wisely, and here it is. Retirement. What now?

The wisdom and conviction you mustered when building your portfolio of retirement investing has created a giant nest egg for your golden years and it's all right there, at your fingertips, ready to spend any way you want, forever. Go ahead. You earned it.

But statistics say you'll probably live another 25 or 30 years and you just know you're going to want to spend money then, too. Now that you're retired, where will THAT money come from?

Conventional wisdom for retirement investing has traditionally advocated heavy investment in income funds. Seems to make sense since you'll need income and you're not working anymore. The problem with conventional wisdom is that conventions, and life spans, change over time.

Income funds are designed for the investor who will leave the principal intact and spend only the dividends or interest paid from the fund. The theory is that the principal, intact, with no money added or taken away, will produce enough interest to live on, worry free. Unfortunately, today's dollar value of principal is most likely going to be ravaged by inflation over 25 or 30 years and the comfortable, lingering retirement is likely to become troublesome financially somewhere down the road.

Since our robust health and longer lifespans add time and continued vitality to our retirement years, it stands to reason that retirement investing needs to be reconsidered to meet evolving needs. Today, a more balanced approach is the key to financial peace of mind throughout retirement. You might want to consider allocating percentages of your wealth into three areas of concern - income, growth, and cash flow. Your trusted financial advisor can help you make these allocations.