Case Study: Jack & Susanna

This discussion below is a hypothetical example and is not representative of any specific situation. The information is provided as an example of a typical client profile and we who strive to service as financial professionals. Strategies and objectives discussed may vary based on your unique needs.

To Jack and Susanna, it seemed like retirement age was coming way too quickly. They both worked for the federal government, Jack as a meteorologist for the National Weather Service and Susanna as an air traffic controller for the FAA. They’d been contributing 10% to their Thrift Savings Plan regularly and they invested a little in some stocks, although they hadn’t monitored that investment for a while. They’d been putting most of their money into their savings account, and although it wasn’t earning much interest there, they never seemed to have enough time to sit down together to decide how to invest it.

GOAL

At ages 58 and 55, Jack and Susanna were hoping to retire within the next 5-8 years so that they could travel and visit their two children, who recently finished college. As government employees, they knew they had some kind of pension, but they weren’t sure what it offered, and they’ve been receiving information in the mail about social security benefits that they’d be eligible to take in a few years.

Challenges

They had so many questions—questions about when they should start their benefits, about making additional contributions to their TSP and other investments, about long-term-care insurance, and about helping their children pay back their college loans. They were also worried that they hadn’t prepared a will or created a trust for their family, something they knew they should do.

They knew that they should have started to plan more carefully for this stage and for their upcoming retirement, but it always seemed like it was still several years away. They lacked a clear path forward for the next stage of life.

Good Life Approach

Jack and Susanna now realized they needed to take action with their financial future.

When Good Life Financial interacts with couples facing similar challenges to Jack and Susanna, we focus on providing an in-depth review of your current financial situation and ask the probing questions to better understand your goals for the future.

It is our mission to discover how you envision your financial future and develop strategies tailored to your unique needs. We will be your navigational system along your financial journey, helping you to stay organized, address your concerns, and provide recommendations to other professionals such as estate attorneys.

When it comes to financial planning, finding the right fit in an advisor is essential – and finding the right fit in a client is critical for the advisor as well.