STOP Calling It a Retirement Plan! DO THIS Instead...

Steve explains why he hates the term "Retirement Plan" and what you should do, instead!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
So we just need to stopcalling it a retirement plan.
I, in fact, I hate that term, butthat's the term that the industry uses.
And that's the term that's mostfamiliar with people, but I'll
tell you why we shouldn't call it aretirement plan because it's depressing.
That's why.
So for many people, the thought ofretirement is happiness and joy and
full possibilities, but for one in threeAmericans, according to a WebMD article

(00:26):
the emotional shock of retirement.
They feel depressed and theyfeel sad and they feel anxious.
And so the term or thedefinition of retirement is
one to retreat or to withdraw.
And so if you think about whatretirement is, it's withdrawing
from active work, it's withdrawingfrom society, it's retreating from

(00:50):
the things that you used to do.
And that's not a very positive thought.
That's not a very, uh, invigorating.
Going into something that's going tolast potentially 30 years of your life.
And it's kind of funny because whenwe're in our twenties and we do a
financial plan, we don't call it ayoung person's plan or a beginner plan.

(01:10):
When you're in your thirties and yourforties, we don't call it a working
towards the prime of your life plan.
And when we reach our fifties,we don't call it a, you know,
peak earning years plan.
All of a sudden we hit our sixtiesand we call it a retirement plan.
Something that may last.
For our 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s,and potentially hundreds.

(01:35):
We may be 30, 40, or 50 yearsinto what people call retirement.
And we know that the way that a personfeels, and that a person acts, and the
goals that people have in their 60sare different than those of their 70s.
And when you're in your 80s, yourgoals are going to be different

(01:56):
than they were in their 70s and 60s.
and 90s and 100s and so on.
So to call it a retirement planand kind of lump everything in to
that term to me is a big mistake.
So let's stop calling a retirement plan.
Let's call it for what it is becauseeveryone's retirement looks different.
Why don't we just call it acontinuation of your financial plan?

(02:19):
Right?
So it's different goals,modified goals, but it's still
a comprehensive financial plan.
And so if we could lenda term from Star Wars.
It's a new chapter of your life.
In fact, it's chapter four of StarWars, which is called the new hope.
It's the chance to do thingsthroughout those decades that

(02:39):
you didn't get to do while you'reworking full time in your career.
It may be going back to college.
It may be starting a new business.
It may be spending more timewith family and grandkids.
It may be traveling much morefrequently, a lot of different things,
but it doesn't mean retreating.
or withdrawing from society.

(02:59):
So because the concept of retirementis different for so many people, I just
wanted to give you kind of an idea of whatthings look like from a goal standpoint
so when you're working, you're lookingat your Income from your career and in
retirement, you're looking at income fromyour social security and your investments.

(03:21):
During your working years, you'reoften looking at purchasing a house.
In your retirement years, you may belooking at purchasing a house, but it
may be a vacation home or it may bedownsizing to a different home since
you don't need that much space anymore.
Or it may be helping your kids buy a home.
It may be from college planningfor your kids to college planning

(03:42):
for yourself or your grandkids.
It could be things like,uh, risk management.
Whereas when you were working, itwas risk management and making sure
you had disability insurance in caseyou got hurt and weren't able to earn
an income from your primary career.
And in retirement, it's long termcare insurance, which will take

(04:04):
care of you should you need helpand assistance as you get older.
It's that retirement years aredifferent as you go through the
decades, just as different as theyears before what we call retirement.
And so I would just prefer if we calledit a financial plan, just a financial

(04:25):
plan from the time that you're in yourtwenties and you need to plan to the time
that you're in your eighties or nineties.
Just makes sense.
So let's just call it for what it is, acomprehensive lifetime financial plan.