Retiring Right: Smart Steps for Exiting Corporate America

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Copyright © 2024 Jake Falcon

All rights reserved.

First Edition

ISBN: 978-1-5445-4522-6

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Contents

Introduction

1. Finding Your Purpose

2. Financial Planning

3. Healthcare, Insurance, and Estate Planning

4. Investment Management

5. Stocks and Bonds

6. What to Look for in an Advisor

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Disclosures

About the Author

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Introduction

You’re a corporate associate who has devoted your entire professional life to contributing toward the company’s success and longevity. You’ve progressed through the ranks with focus, determination, and lots of hard work. You’ve prioritized your employees, team, family, and company’s financial success. You’ve sacrificed your personal interests and free time to serve others, serve your business, and deliver for clients.

Now, you’re nearing retirement and facing the end of all you’ve known for the last twenty, thirty, maybe even forty years. You wonder, What’s next? What will the next chapter of my life look like?

For many corporate associates, the idea of retiring is downright terrifying. Not only are you facing financial stressors (Will I have enough to last a lifetime? What’s the most tax-efficient way to establish a monthly income stream? [And no, I don’t mean buying an annuity!] What about my stock options?), you’re facing emotional ones as well (Who will I be without my job? How will I stay busy and engaged? How will my company move forward without me?).

It’s natural to worry as you near retirement. It’s difficult to walk away from something you’ve dedicated your life to. But I’m here to tell you…It can and will be okay.

I’ve enjoyed helping hundreds of corporate associates create a plan and retire with confidence. It’s not always easy, and you’ll undoubtedly face some challenges along the way, but with a bit of planning and the right guidance, you can achieve a financially successful and emotionally fulfilling retirement.

I hope this book helps you in that pursuit.

The Unique Retirement Challenges Faced by Corporate Associates

The process of retiring is different for everyone. Each person has their own vision for retirement. We all face unique challenges. Our individual fears and anxieties about this momentous life event vary.

While most long-time corporate associates have the advantage of higher-than-normal salaries, stock options, and employer-sponsored retirement plans, they often face a variety of challenges as they prepare to retire. Through my experience working with hundreds of corporate associates, I have found that these challenges commonly fall into two main categories.

The emotional/psychological challenges of retirement

The financial decisions required to retire

It may surprise you to see emotional/psychological challenges in a book written by a wealth advisor, and believe me, I’m no psychologist. However, I’ve learned throughout the years that the corporate executives who most successfully retire (and live there happily) are those who have addressed the emotional component of this major life change. We’ll address this thoroughly in Chapter One, but for now, just be aware that there’s a significant psychological element to the retirement process that, if not meticulously planned for and addressed, can leave you feeling unsettled, unhappy, and unfulfilled.

Besides the emotional challenges of retirement, corporate associates also face a wide range of financial challenges. Not only do you need to secure monthly income that lasts for the rest of your life, you need to navigate estate planning, tax planning, healthcare expenses, investment management, life and long-term care insurance, and more.

Whew! Just the idea of tackling all of this can make you want to keep working for a few more years.

But remember, countless corporate associates have effectively navigated the financial and emotional challenges of retirement. You can too. This book walks you through all the basics to help you prepare for your next chapter.

The Importance of Having a Plan in Place

Planning for a successful retirement is about more than having the right investment allocation and monthly income (although those are important components). Rather, all aspects of your financial life should work together to help achieve your goals. It’s vital to have a comprehensive financial plan in place to guide your actions and inform your decision-making. Your plan should incorporate the following strategies.

Retirement account planning

Social Security planning

Tax planning

Healthcare planning

Large purchase planning

Risk management/insurance planning

Estate/legacy planning

Investment management

I’ll visit each of these strategies later in this book. For now, I just want to stress the importance of having a single, comprehensive plan in place and updating it regularly. It’s not effective to take a set-it-and-forget-it approach. Your plan should be a dynamic tool that is constantly updated as your life and financial situation change. At a minimum, update your plan once a year and whenever major life events occur.

Once your custom, comprehensive plan is in place, you’ll have the information you need to answer the following questions and more.

When can I retire?

What will my monthly income be in retirement?

How much can I afford to spend each month?

Do I have enough to buy a second home, a boat, or another large purchase? Should I pay cash or finance the purchase?

Should I pay off my mortgage?

How do I pay less in taxes?

When should I collect Social Security?

Should I choose a lump sum or annuity pension distribution?

Should I accept my company’s buyout offer?

Should I contribute or convert to a Roth IRA?

Do I need life and/or long-term care insurance?

How do I navigate my stock options and concentrated stock positions?

What’s the best way to leave a financial legacy for my loved ones?

How should I invest my money leading up to and during retirement?

I call bluff on anyone who claims they can answer these questions without consulting a detailed financial plan. It’s just not possible in my opinion. To provide informed, accurate advice, your wealth advisor must have the necessary information. The best way to gather that information is by conducting a thorough analysis of your current financial situation, long-term goals, future outlook, and any challenges that may stand in your way, and using that information to create a custom financial plan.

Once your financial plan is in place, your wealth advisor should be able to use planning software to run projections based on various scenarios, manipulating the inputs along the way to give you an idea of how your actions today may affect your future. I believe this detailed, data-driven approach results in the most accurate prediction of your potential success in retirement.

Why Take Advice from Me?

You may wonder, What does this guy know about retirement planning? and, Why should I listen to him? I get it. Numerous wealth advisors exist, each boasting expertise in many different areas.

My main qualifier isn’t that I work for the biggest firm or bring in the highest commissions. While I charge feeds based on a client’s assets under management, I aim to mitigate conflicts of interest. My main qualifier is that I am passionate about helping people transition to retirement. Since I started working in financial services, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I built my advisory firm exclusively so I could focus on retirement planning without all the typical distractions and disparate responsibilities that come with working at many larger firms.

I also hold the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ (CRPC®) designation, which is awarded by the College for Financial Planning. This designation includes a comprehensive assessment of an advisor’s ability to assess an individual’s financial needs before and after retirement, including sources of retirement income, personal savings, income taxes, estate planning, and much more.

I’ve been practicing as a wealth advisor since 2006. In 2016, my business partner, Cory Bittner, CRPC®, and I founded Falcon Wealth Advisors with the sole purpose of helping people succeed and retire with confidence. Since we opened our doors, our team has grown to include experienced professionals dedicated to supporting our clients in areas such as financial, tax, and retirement planning, along with investment management and more. All our employees share a common goal—to help clients achieve a successful retirement.

I’ve also been interviewed by Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, and CNN Business, to name a few.

To me, it comes down to this: how many times will you plan for retirement? If you do it right, the answer is once. How many times have I planned for retirement? I’ve met with hundreds of people and had thousands of meetings. I’ve encountered nearly every challenge, roadblock, and setback imaginable. And, with the help of my amazing team, I’ve skillfully helped countless clients overcome those challenges and arrive at the retirement of their dreams.

Ultimately, you have only one chance to retire. Make sure you put in the effort to retire right.

My Background and Experience

As I work with new clients, my first goal is always to get to know them—their likes and dislikes, what makes them tick, what’s most important to them, their families, and loved ones. Asking basic questions about someone’s life and priorities is the first step toward building a trusted relationship. I thought it might be helpful to share a bit about myself.

How I Got My Start…

I was born in Kansas City but mainly raised in Nebraska and Texas. During my formative years, both of my parents worked at a Phillips 66 refinery near Amarillo, Texas. I started golfing at a young age and entered school at the University of Texas, San Antonio, with a goal of becoming a golf pro. However, that goal changed during college when I got my first job working at a country club. That job made me realize that, for me, golf was a better hobby than profession.

Soon after that experience, finance emerged as