The Importance of an Exit Strategy

There are no do-overs or second chances in retirement. As you move from your working years into retirement, you need a solid exit strategy. You are moving from a period of time that you accumulated money, into a time when you need that money to last a lifetime. A solid exit strategy can help you maintain your lifestyle and retire without stress and the fear that you might outlive your money.

What are you looking for?

Many retirees have worked twenty to thirty years, sometimes two or three jobs, to finally get where they are today. They want to enjoy their retirement. To be retired comfortably and happy, they want to be able to go out to eat, do some traveling and also spend time with their friends and family. They have an exit strategy that is focused on what their money can do for them.

Preserve your Dignity & Independence

When you retire, ultimately you are going to go through one of two doors:

1. Door Number One: Through this door, in retirement, the income outlives you. Through this door, you can maintain your dignity and independence.
2. Door Number Two: Through this door, in retirement, you outlive your income.

The key?

There is only one key to door number one. It is a written exit strategy. The different between door one or door two is a formal, date specific, dollar specific, retirement income and accumulation plan.

If you are at or near retirement, you probably have some concerns including:

1. Stock market volatility over the last few years may be shaking your confidence in Wall Street investments.
2. You do not want to chase x percent return that cannot be guaranteed in a bank or on Wall Street.
3. Your pension is too small to pay for the lifestyle you want, or you are retiring without a pension.
4. A fear the growing federal deficit could become a drag on the U.S. economy.
5. You want a better way to protect your lifestyle in retirement.

What this means is

If you are like most retirees, you don’t want to be concerned about another market downturn like the in 2000 then again in 2008. Also, you don't want to worry that someone on Wall Street may control your retirement.

In Conclusion

The guide, Start at the Finish Line, was written to give you a brief overview of how to plan an exit strategy, so you can live the retirement lifestyle you have dreamed of, rather than just trying to survive retirement. It helps you determine what's important about money to you, and decide whether you have enough income. Do not merely try and survive retirement, thrive in it with an exit strategy you create from the guide, Start at the Finish Line.