Planning for Life’s Phases

We understand that life is not static and that each stage of your life requires special consideration. This is the reason why we begin every engagement with a financial plan. We help you plan for the future based on your current situation and make changes as your life evolves.

To reach a secure financial future you simply cannot set it and forget it. A carefully crafted financial strategy along with monitoring and adjusting of your investments, savings, and spending is needed to help you achieve success.

Education Phase

Young people are expected to have already learned the skills necessary to support themselves. The next decade is devoted to building a career and laying the foundation for future financial security, although few grads receive any financial education to prepare for what’s ahead. This is the time to ensure you have the information you need to make optimal financial decisions. Ages 25 to 35 are pivotal years for building a financial base. Lightpath offers coaching and financial literacy education for second-generation clients to guide them through some of their first major financial decisions – the purchase of a first home, debt and income management, cash flow, career, and family planning.

Accumulation Phase

You may be in a position to capitalize on the asset base you’ve carefully built. You should be ready to prepare for retirement by putting a multiple-asset investment program into place. These years can be a mixed bag – you may have more earning power, however it can be coupled with new challenges—like funding your children’s educations and/or helping aging relatives, or other major changes in your lifestyle. While you may feel stretched, it’s critical to take care of your own retirement security first. During this stage, planning will focus on developing a comprehensive financial plan, including cash flow, insurance planning and risk management, investment planning, tax planning, retirement goals and planning, and navigating life transitions.

Preservation Phase

As you near retirement age, it’s time to review where you are on the road to financial independence. When is enough, enough? Most in retirement have three or more sources of income: Social Security, retirement investments, and after-tax personal assets like income properties and securities. While traditional retirement may not be the goal for many professionals and entrepreneurs, financial independence is. Some may change how time is spent; we call it a lifestyle retirement. Deciding how much is enough will vary based on their personal preferences. In this stage, we introduce preliminary estate planning and Social Security and retirement income analysis to determine where you are in relation to your goals. This may be a time for business owners to consider their business succession plan as well. We will create or revise your comprehensive financial plan and provide guidance to help you reach your retirement goals.

Distribution Phase

Post-retirement can be thought of in three different phases – early, mid and late retirement. In early retirement, most people are still socially and physically active, perhaps enjoying the results of a lifetime of careful goal planning. More money is spent in this stage of retirement than others. In mid-retirement, you may stay closer to family and friends. Spending generally slows as needs are fewer, and you start simplifying your life through downsizing. In late retirement, there is an increase in health and care needs. Financial planning considers the risks of longevity and allows for all stages of aging, including care needs late in life – the most expensive of which is long-term care. Cash flow and distribution planning are carefully considered in this stage.

Financial planning during each of these phases of retirement will address different aspects of your estate plan – including preparation for the transfer of wealth to your heirs and/or the arrangements for the legacy you wish to leave. This may include family meetings or the financial literacy education and coaching we offer to our clients’ beneficiaries (see the education life stage), coordination of charitable organizations, and trust planning.