2 Key Retirement Concerns – Joe Anderson

What are common concerns you hear from prospects and clients you meet with?

I hear two concerns repeatedly: Paying too much in taxes and market losses. Each concern is important to address and is crucial when it comes to planning for retirement.

Taxes can be a three-headed monster. The three main taxes retirees should address are income taxes, capital gains, and estate/death taxes.  Each is important to control and plan for, however, some can be more of a concern than others.  The most common issue I see is having too much of your savings in pre-tax retirement accounts such as IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457s, etc.

The amounts in these accounts will be taxed based on your income rates in the future. Essentially, this means that these dollars have an IOU to the IRS attached to them at rates that they get to decide in the future. With our tax rates set to change/increase in 2026, it may make sense for some individuals to shift some of these funds to more tax-efficient options like Roth retirement accounts or after-tax funds while taxes are on sale.

Also, with required minimum distributions beginning for individuals in the future, these funds can increase tax liability if you do not need all this extra income to meet your lifestyle requirements in retirement.  That old saying “you will be in a lower tax bracket in retirement” may no longer hold true.

For volatility, the most overlooked thing is how math affects your money.  “Why risk what you have for what you don’t need?” is something I say often. Think of it this way, a 20% loss of 2 million dollars hurts a lot more than a 20% loss did in the accumulation stage of your life when you only had $100,000.  You need to ensure you structure time for the assets you leave vulnerable to the market to grow because time is the one thing you have less of in retirement – less time for your funds to bounce back after a downturn.  You need a plan and a blend of investments to ensure the math works in your favor.

Recently, we’ve seen the sectors that grew at fast rates over the last decade, such as technology sector stocks, take a disproportionate hit, dropping more than other market sectors. When you have a proper blend of asset classes and sectors that correlates to how much time you have to see a recovery in asset value, you won’t have to worry as much about being overexposed to a certain sector that may drop when you need to turn that investment into income.

How Does SHP Financial help solve common concerns for those in and preparing for retirement?

As an independent firm, we have access to all tools, solutions, and investment strategies that exist, allowing us to ensure a comprehensive plan for our clients that is true to their unique financial situations and goals.

We also have partnerships with CPAs and estate planning attorneys to ensure each of the five steps of a client’s financial plan is covered. This also ensures that they are educated on all their options, including the pros and cons of each strategy they have available to them. Sign up for a complimentary review with us to see how your retirement financial plan can benefit from our teams of financial specialists.