ZLC clients and friends enjoyed our recent workshop where our guest speaker, Doug Towill, presented several interesting and provocative thoughts on what we can expect in retirement. Doug shared ideas on how we can best prepare ourselves to maximize our opportunities, and enjoyment, of this important, and hopefully long stage of our lives.
Highlights from the presentation included discussion on:
- The risks we face with Longevity (will we outlive our money during our 25 to 30 years of retirement?) inflation (what will a dollar buy us in 20 or 30 years?) and Market Volatility (will a drop in the market set us back?)
- The Sandwich generation (most middle age people have more parents than children)
- Our increased awareness of the dangers of retirement and whether products exist to help protect/manage losses (tragically, far too many assets are now held in tax inefficient and low interest bearing investments)
- The concerns we face in maintaining our lifestyle in retirement (a large percentage of us are finding that our expenses are much higher than we expected)
- The events that trigger retirement readiness (financial freedom, a significant age, health, death of someone close, career setback)
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (detailing how some needs take precedence over others i.e. beyond our basic need to survive follows our broader needs: the need for safety and security, for love and belonging, for esteem, and to realize our own potential and fulfillment).
Many found this Solutions Pyramid (below) particularly interesting:
