To help financial advisors address current market volatility and assist clients to enjoy the retirement they want, Carson Group partnered with investment management firm PIMCO to produce this Retirement Income Series. We tapped Dana Anspach, founder and CEO of Sensible Money, to kick off the series by sharing her significant insights and expertise.
Recognized as a retirement expert and one of Investopedia’s top 100 most influential financial advisors for her contributions to financial literacy, Dana writes regularly on retirement topics. She created the lecture series How to Plan for the Perfect Retirement and is the author of the books Control Your Retirement Destiny and Social Security Sense. She founded Sensible Money to better help people approaching retirement make their transition out of the workforce.
Dana remembers clearly when she identified this need in the market. It was the early 2000s, and a couple in their mid-60s came to her with 10 years’ worth of statements from their broker that revealed they had made no money.
“The portfolio should have doubled easily over that period. What happened?” Dana says. “Every time they expressed concern, the broker moved their money from stocks to bonds to fixed annuities. It was a reactionary response. That triggered something in me. I started a deep dive into how to make cash flow sustainable in retirement.”
In today’s episode, Dana speaks to Jamie and Devin Ekberg, senior consultant and education advisor with PIMCO, about her career journey, the retirement income process she walks each of her clients through and how she educates them throughout this process. She discusses the interconnection between investment decisions and Social Security, Roth IRAs and pensions, and the need for advisors to create a coordinated strategy, plus the impact she wants to have on the profession.
Key Takeaways
- The stakes are higher for retirees and their investments than for any other market segment.
- One of the big mistakes the financial collapse of 2008-09 revealed was a lack of detailed monthly budgeting for spending in retirement. It was people who overspent who got into trouble.
- A portfolio needs to be aligned specifically to the cash flows it is required to produce. This goes beyond a risk tolerance questionnaire.
Quote
“We need to redefine what risk means when we head into retirement. Our traditional way of viewing risk is by volatility. I would define risk as running out of money.” – Dana Anspach
Links
Carson Group is committed to advancing financial literacy. Schedule a consultation to learn how Carson can help you help your clients and grow your business. Visit PIMCO to learn more about the work it is doing in the retirement income planning space.
