The Financial Impact of Healthcare Planning for High-Income Families
Explore how healthcare costs can impact high-income households and how strategic financial planning may support tax and estate planning goals.
true Michael McGrath, CFP®, CLU®, CAP®
Senior Vice President, Advisor, Partner
Valencia, California
Author: Mike McGrath
The idea of waking up late on a Tuesday morning and having nothing to do other than lunch with a friend and/or a long hike sounds like a pipe dream when we are in our 20s and 30s. If we were smart enough then (or had proper guidance advice), we would have started saving then--at least what little we had left after mortgages, braces, and car repairs. However, as we move through our mid-40s into our 50s, our unpreparedness feels like Monday evening when we aren’t quite ready for Tuesday morning to arrive.
As the passive thoughts of a long-off retirement progress into a serious and somewhat panicked conversation about what we need to save, how we will spend our non-working years, and the legacies we all want to leave, the magnitude of it all may feel overwhelming.
At this juncture, the best advice is to simply break it down into manageable pieces and focus on them one at a time. Each element of our planning, if done correctly and/or with the advice of a qualified financial planner, will build upon the previous piece, ultimately establishing the foundation we need the most: peace of mind.
While I would start with the “softer” portions of retirement planning (or financial planning in general), such as a discussion of how you want to spend your time, what goals have ultimate importance, or the kinds of charitable endeavors in which you want to engage, we can’t ignore the blocking and tackling aspects of knowing and understanding our investments and retirement accounts.
Most of my clients want to understandably focus on what they have saved and, more than that, how to maximize what they have saved. Narrowing that further, one of the largest retirement-related assets most of us have is our 401(k) account(s). So, it seems appropriate to discuss some best practices when it comes to maximizing these accounts while simultaneously looking at the aspects of retirement planning of which we can control. After all, markets come and go, portfolios go up and down (and hopefully back up again), and life changes. However, if we can discipline ourselves to focus on what we can influence and stick with the program, we can develop the sense of security we all crave. With that in mind, here are some thoughts for consideration specific to addressing one’s 401(k) and retirement readiness:
Retirement planning is an opportunity to cast a new vision, seek out new adventures, and develop a meaningful final phase of your life. To accomplish this, we need to follow our hearts, but also dot our I’s and cross our T’s. Following some of these practical tips can be a part of what brings us the priceless gift of peace of mind.
I'm always happy to help.
Disclosures:
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