"We're Tired of All the Statistics — You're Not Hearing Us" (115)

A portfolio can grow while confidence shrinks—especially when every question gets answered with a statistic. In this episode I unpack a real case study of a retired couple who were told for 16 years to stay “70/30” and not touch their income because actuarial tables said they might live to 95.

The returns looked fine on paper, but the plan didn’t feel like their life. So we rebuilt the conversation from the ground up: listen first, translate goals into cash flow, then design a structure that buys time and reduces stress.

We walk through a simple, durable bucket strategy anchored by a five-year income “war chest” funded with fixed income and implemented through a bond ladder. When markets wobble, that ladder matures on schedule, keeping monthly checks uninterrupted and avoiding forced equity sales. With near-term income secured, we show how to responsibly raise their retirement paycheck by a few hundred dollars and create a path to adjust upward as the portfolio grows. It’s a shift from product labels to lived experience—less jargon, more clarity about how money supports everyday choices.

We also explain why weekly market commentary can amplify anxiety, and how reframing communication around the psychology of money helps clients feel calm, confident, and in control. If you’ve ever wondered whether your retirement plan is built around your goals or someone else’s template, this story offers a blueprint for change: align values, secure cash needs, and let time do its work. Subscribe for more practical strategies, share this with someone stuck in “set-and-forget” mode, and leave a review to tell us what would make you feel more confident about your retirement.

🗓️ Meet with me: https://paradigmwealthpartners.com/begin-your-journey/#calendly
↔️ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbednarii/
🌐 Paradigm Wealth Partners (website) – Financial planning for career professionals who want to retire and stay retired: https://paradigmwealthpartners.com/
🌐 What the Wealth (website) – Adding clarity to difficult financial topics: https://whatthewealth.com/
▶️ YouTube: Paradigm Wealth Partners

If you or someone you care about could use the help of a financial advisor and sees the value in establishing a financial plan, please reach out to me. 

Thanks for Listening! 

Jonathan

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:04):
For 16 years with one of the largest RIAs in the
country, a retired couple hadcame to us and their accounts
had done well, but they weregetting more concerned about
taking risk off the table,diversifying.
They wanted to increase theirincome slightly.
And the problem was every timethey asked this firm about

(00:25):
raising their income or aboutdiversifying or reducing risk,
they were told, actually, you'lllive to 95, so you can't.
And after 16 years, that answerjust left them feeling stuck and
frustrated.
I'm Jonathan Bedner.
Welcome to the What the WealthRetirement Podcast.

(00:48):
Today we're going to talk aboutthis real life case study where
you know this couple came inafter spending a long time,
almost two decades, at least adecade and a half, with this
large national RIA, and theyfelt stuck, they felt
frustrated.
And this firm had actually donewell for them.
I told them that they knew thatthe performance had done well.

(01:14):
Where this other firm failed washaving empathy, was having, you
know, conversation on aone-on-one level.
And instead, they continued totalk down to these people.
You're gonna live to 95, butaccording to the actuarial
tables.
You can't do that because that'snot a safe withdrawal rate.

(01:36):
You can't do this, you can'tdiversify, you're you're in a
70-30, you need to be in a70-30.
He one of the things that thiscouple said to me was Yo, they
keep telling us we're in a70-30, you're in a 70-30, you're
in a 70-30.
These clients don't even knowwhat a 70-30 is.
Really.
I mean, obviously they know thatmeans 70% equities, 30% fixed

(02:00):
income.
But what does it really mean?
And and I can tell that's whatthey were struggling with
because they were told we wantto diversify, we want to take
risk off the table.
And really, 7030 is not thataggressive.
You know, they have they arediversified.
You know, their portfolio has 72positions, which I mean that's

(02:24):
ridiculous in this day and age,but that's that's for another
podcast.
16 years at one of the largestRAs, and it comes down to
empathy.
The truth is, retirement isn'tjust about how long you'll live
on paper.
It doesn't, it's not only aboutare you gonna live to 90 or 93
or 96 or 100, it's about howconfident you are in living your

(02:47):
life today as well.
So, how do we marry those twoconcepts together?
And you know, we we do want tomake sure that as long as you
have life, you have money.
But we also want you to makesure that you you have
confidence in your life, yourspending, and you're thriving
today.

(03:08):
So here's how we helped.
Here's how you know our firm,Paradigm Wealth Partners,
helped.
We are not a large national RIA,we are a small business,
family-owned, and this is how wehelped.
The very first thing we did waswe listened.
We understood their concerns andwhat mattered most to them.

(03:31):
We took notes, we had we askedquestions, we asked more
questions, and took a lot oftime to understand really what
was most important.
Uh from there, we started toshow them how their retirement
paycheck could could potentiallyincrease over time.

(03:56):
They have a million-dollarportfolio, they were taking uh
thirty eight hundred dollars amonth, they needed to take or
wanted to take a little bitmore, not extravagantly more,
two to two to four hundreddollars, five hundred dollars
more.
Um and their account had grownwell, we wanted to show them

(04:18):
that over time we should also beable to increase their
retirement paycheck as theiraccount grows, their income can
too if it's planned correctly.
So we spent valuable time kindof walking through how that
works, what that looks like.
And the third thing we did waswe simply created a bucket

(04:40):
strategy for them.
Instead of saying you're in a70-30, you're in a 70-30, you're
in a 70-30, the money's gottalast till 95.
We built this custom bucketstrategy.
Very, very simple.
Part of this bucket strategyincludes a five-year war chest.
This five-year war chest istheir income set aside for the

(05:05):
next five years.
So it doesn't matter what themarket does, they they know
their lifestyle is for securefor the next five years.
Gotta be careful on how I saysecure.
Compliance may not like that.
Their lifestyle is uninterruptedfor the next five years.
I continue to get them theirsame income.

(05:26):
Now, that five-year war chest isinvested.
We have it invested in fixedincome, earning, you know, 4%
plus or minus.
I don't know what the exact rateis, um, but uh around 4%.
And so this is a way for me totell them that if if we have
market turbulence, if we getanother 10, 15, 20 percent, you

(05:48):
know, pullback in the market, Ican look and say, Mr.
and Miss Client, we still have48 months left or 56 months left
or 32 months left of yourincome.
That gives us time to let thismarket rebound.
And and once we explained thatfive-year work chest, and we do
this using a bond ladder.

(06:09):
I've I've done a podcast, aprior episode on a bond ladder.
I'll tag it here in the shownotes for you.
But by creating this bondladder, we have money that
matures every year.
As that money matures, thatprovides them their fixed income
for that year.
This is a very simple strategy,but once I said it, the light

(06:30):
bulbs went off.
Like it it just clicked.
And from there, we're able tode-escalate and say, Great, I'm
comfortable, I get it, I amdiversified.
We've just explained it in a waythat's that's more human, it's
more understanding, it's morecompassionate, that's not just

(06:53):
being talked down to, which isthe way they were at their prior
firm.
The other thing that that theygot at this prior firm that
caused a lot of anxiousness arethese these weekly market
commentaries and performanceupdates.
And while that sounds helpful onthe surface, it caused more

(07:14):
stress and anxiety.
You're not you're not a a marketexpert, you're not a financial
advisor, you're not a CPA,you're not a CFA, you're not any
of these financial jargonyterms.
You're just a normal person whowants to know that they can
successfully and comfortablylive in retirement.
And so when you're gettingpounded weekly with these market

(07:37):
updates and thesecommunications, you don't fully
know how to interpret them.
You don't, you know, you canread them, but you don't really
understand them.
And so it becomes a source ofincreased stress, it becomes a
source of increased anxiety.
And so, you know, as they'veleft this old firm and joined
us, they've closed the chapterto all those performance

(08:00):
updates.
And instead, our communicationis focused on the psychology of
money, helping clients feel calmand confident and in control.
And the responses that I getfrom this couple when we send
out our emails is one of, youknow, thank you.
This makes tons of sense.
This is the best thing you'vewritten.
You know, we we love gettingthese.

(08:22):
We would, you know, we're gonnashare this with our friends and
family.
And so, you know, people don'tdo that with market performance
and market commentary.
They don't, it doesn't, itdoesn't always exude confidence.
And so our communication isfocused on making sure that you
have, you know, that confidencewith your retirement, with your

(08:43):
financial plans.
This is, you know, kind of areal life short case study on on
how we're helping people todayin 2025, uh, and have for the
past, you know, 25 years at ourfirm.
2026 will be our our you know,we'll be celebrating 2025 years

(09:06):
as an independent financialadvising firm, helping families
and individuals and people justlike this be comfortable and
confident in their retirement.
And retirement isn't aboutactuarial tables or market
updates, it's about creating aplan that supports the life you

(09:26):
want to live, your dreams, andmirroring your core values with
your dreams so you have thatpurposeful and fulfilling
retirement.
If you're wondering whetherretirement income could be more
flexible or if your plan matchesyour goals, we'd love to have
that conversation.
You can schedule a consultationthrough the link below in the
show notes.
Be confident in your retirement.

(09:47):
Have a wonderful day.
Thanks for joining me on anotherepisode of What the Wealth.
If you enjoyed the episodetoday, smash that subscribe
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Your friend, Aunt Judy, therandom guy in the office who's
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Wealth isn't about just the chipchain.

(10:09):
It's about our choices, chances,and changing our financial
futures.
The information in this podcastis informational and general in
nature and does not take intoconsideration the listener's
personal circumstances.
This podcast is not intended tobe a substitute for specific in
financial, legal, or tax advice.
You should consult the approvedqualified professional prior to
making a final decision.

(10:30):
Security is offered through LPLFinancial, member FINRA SIPC.
Paradigm Wealth Partners is theother business name for
Independent Advisor Alliance.
Investment Advice offeredthrough Independent Advisor
Alliance, a registeredinvestment advisor, Independent
Advisor Alliance, and ParadigmWealth Partners are separate
entities for LPL Financial.