The Longevity Risks of Living Longer

Adjunct professor of the American College, Curtis Cloke, RICP says there are 18 to 20 retirement risk factors that may need to be addressed when designing your retirement plan. It’s a daunting task to design a retirement plan that covers every one of those items and that’s why you need a retirement expert to assist you. Here are the top ten retirement risks.

Medical Health (Frailty): Medicare and supplement plans can help with healthcare costs, but catastrophic events could overwhelm your budget and your emotions.

Long Term Care: For most retirees it is an inevitable event that consumes assets in the later years of life that can leave you living off of Social Security only.

Financial Elder Abuse: Scams, unethical advisers and strangers prey upon unprotected seniors, but the vast amount of thefts are from family and friends.

Sequence of Returns: Withdrawing monthly income from your portfolio can be dangerous in a down market and can inadvertently quickly reduce your portfolio’s size.

Inflation: Real inflation can rob the purchasing power of your retirement dollar for the commodities you need to live on in retirement.

Liquidity Risk: Life happens. Whether you need to pay deductibles for unforeseen auto, home and medical events, repairs or maintenance, you need cash at the ready.

Forced Retirement: Sometimes you’re forced to retire earlier than you planned on by an employer, an injury or becoming a caregiver to a family member.

Loss of Spouse: When a spouse dies income may be reduced, taxes may increase and the loss of companionship can cause great personal hardship for the survivor.

Unexpected Financial Responsibility: Children can return home or suddenly you’re raising your grandchildren after a divorce or death of your child.

Regulatory Risk: The government has, and more than likely will, change the tax code, other rules and regulations that can significantly impact your retirement plan.

These risks can devastate the financial lifestyle of retirees and leave their vision of the golden years in ruins. Defending against these risks is vital in order to insure, as much as is humanly possible, an enjoyable retirement.