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"How much can I safely take out of my retirement account every year?" That's one of the most common questions I hear from people approaching retirement. For many people, the biggest concern isn't growing their money anymore. It's making sure they don't run out of it. The reality is that there isn't one right answer. There are several approaches people use to create retirement income, and each comes with tradeoffs. One approach is often called the 4% rule. As a rough guideline, someone with a $500,000 portfolio might start by withdrawing about $20,000 per year and adjust that amount over time for inflation. The goal is to create a consistent paycheck while leaving the rest of the portfolio invested. Another approach is a flexible spending strategy. Instead of withdrawing the same dollar amount every year, withdrawals adjust based on the value of the portfolio. When markets are up, income can increase. When markets are down, spending may need to be reduced. This approach can work well for people who have flexibility in their budget. A third option is to use a portion of your savings to create a guaranteed income stream through an annuity. Some people like the idea of receiving a predictable monthly payment that isn't directly tied to market performance. Others prefer to keep more of their assets invested and maintain greater flexibility. None of these approaches are inherently right or wrong. The best fit often depends on factors like your spending needs, risk tolerance, other sources of income, and how much certainty you want in retirement. The important thing is understanding that retirement income isn't limited to a single strategy. Most retirees have more than one option available to them, and the right plan is often a combination of approaches that work together. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
What if you're just working the wrong job? I'd encourage you to spend some time thinking about what you're retiring to, not just what you're retiring from. Some of the people I work with are burned out. They're in their 50s, have worked the same job for 30 years, and they're tired. They've done their share of overtime, shift work, and mandatory training days. Their mindset becomes, "Once my portfolio reaches X, I'm done. I'm not working a day longer." If that sounds like you, here's something to consider: maybe the goal isn't to stop working altogether. Maybe the goal is to stop doing work you no longer enjoy. I've been surprised by how many people retire from a long career only to find a part-time job six months later. What I've realized is that some of them could have "retired" years sooner if they had simply transitioned to part-time work in a field they actually enjoyed. Here's a simple way to think about it: It's not a perfect comparison, but using the 4% rule as a rough guideline, $10,000 of annual part-time income can have a similar impact on your retirement income plan as roughly $250,000 in savings. What if you planned for the first few years of retirement assuming you'd work a little? Maybe you work part of the year and take the rest off. Maybe you find a job that's lower stress, more flexible, and something you genuinely enjoy doing. This idea won't be right for everyone. But before you focus only on the number you need to retire, it may be worth asking what you want retirement to look like in the first place. Because sometimes it's not that you're ready to stop working. You may just be ready to stop doing the work you're doing now. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
A lot of people I talk to have most of their money in something tied to the S&P 500. It has done well, so it feels safe. But "feels safe" and "is safe" are not the same thing, especially in retirement. Here is something I ran the numbers on recently. I built a spreadsheet that tested the classic 4% withdrawal rule using real historical returns. The hypothetical results were eye-opening: - A portfolio that was 100% in the S&P 500 starting in 2000 ran out of money around 2020 - A portfolio that was 60% stocks and 40% bonds still had money left in 2025 Same starting amount. Same withdrawal rate. Very different outcomes. The reason is not that the S&P 500 is bad. The reason is that the order of returns matters when you are pulling money out. If the market drops in the early years of retirement, you are selling shares at a low price. That damage is hard to undo. A few takeaways: - Diversification is not about chasing higher returns - It is about giving your plan more ways to survive a bad few years - The right mix depends on your age, your income needs, and your other assets - "All stocks all the time" can work while you are saving. It often does not work the same once you start spending. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results, and the numbers above are a hypothetical illustration only. But the lesson holds: in retirement, how you are invested matters as much as how much you have saved. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
If you are about to retire with a pension, the option you pick is one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. Once you choose, it is usually final. First, it helps to clear up a common misunderstanding. A pension is not really an asset you own. It is a stream of income for as long as the rules of the plan say you get it. That matters because of the choices you have at retirement. Most pensions give you something like: - A single-life option that pays the most but stops when you pass away - A joint and survivor option that pays less but continues to your spouse - Different percentages on the survivor side (50%, 75%, 100%) - A lump sum in some cases Here is what people often miss. If you pick the single-life option, your spouse gets nothing if you pass away first. If you pick a survivor option, your spouse is protected but your kids and grandkids still get nothing when both of you are gone. The pension just stops. That is why some families look at a different approach. The idea is to take the higher single-life payment and use part of the difference to fund a life insurance policy. If it is done right, the spouse is still protected and the family may have something left over for the next generation. It does not work for everyone. Health, age, and the cost of insurance all matter. But it is worth understanding the trade-offs before you sign the paperwork. Once you pick your pension option, you usually cannot change it. If you have a pension decision coming up in the next few years, that is a conversation worth having early. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
September is around the corner, which means we are heading into the time of year when families really start thinking about what next year looks like. A few things worth checking before the end of summer: - Are you on track with your retirement contributions for the year? - Have you looked at your tax situation? - Have you reviewed your beneficiaries? - Do you have a written plan for retirement income, not just an idea? If any of those answers are "not really," it is worth a quick conversation. The end of the year always comes faster than people expect. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
Three questions I hear almost every week from pre-retirees: - Will I have enough? - When can I actually retire? - What do I do with all my different accounts? If those are the same questions running through your head, that is a great sign. It means you are ready to put a real plan in place. The people I work with in Longview and Kelso start with one simple conversation. No pressure. No commitment. Just a clear picture of where you stand and what comes next. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
When should I take Social Security? This is one of the biggest decisions you will make in retirement, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Here is the short version: - You can start as early as 62, but your benefit is reduced - Full retirement age is 66 or 67 for most people today - Waiting until 70 gives you the largest monthly check The right answer depends on your health, your other income, your spouse, and how long you expect to live. It is worth taking the time to run the numbers before you file. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
Inflation is the quiet risk in retirement. If your monthly budget is $6,000 today, in 20 years that same lifestyle could cost a lot more. Most people understand this in theory, but they do not always plan for it. A few ways a good plan handles inflation: - Keeping some of your money invested for growth even in retirement - Building a Social Security strategy that grows with cost of living - Planning for higher health care costs as you age - Using the "income buckets" idea so you do not have to sell investments at a bad time You do not need to be afraid of inflation. You just need a plan that takes it seriously. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
If you work at the hospital or in healthcare in Cowlitz County, retirement planning has a few things you need to think about. A few that come up often: - 403(b) accounts have different rules than 401(k)s - Pensions vary by employer, and the choices you make at retirement matter - Shift differentials and overtime can change what your "real" income looks like for planning - Many healthcare workers want to keep working part-time after they retire If you have been at it a long time and retirement is starting to feel ideal, it is worth a sit down with someone who understands these pieces. We do this with healthcare families all the time. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
Owning individual stocks is exciting. It can also be a lot more dangerous than people realize. Here is the way I explain it. Imagine you are on an elevator. There is one cable holding it up. No matter how strong someone tells you that cable is, would you really want to be on it? Probably not. Now imagine the same elevator with ten cables holding it up. If one snaps, the others still hold you. That is what a diversified portfolio does. A few things to think about with individual stocks: - One company can go to zero, even good ones - A single bad earnings report can wipe out years of gains - You are taking risk that you are not being paid extra to take - Most professional investors do not pick stocks for their own retirement money It is fine to own a little bit of an individual stock for fun. But your retirement money should be on more than one cable. While diversification can help reduce market risk, it does not eliminate it. Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss in a declining market. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
Retirement planning is more than the size of your 401(k). A real plan looks at the things people do not always think about, like: - What happens if one spouse passes away early - What happens if you need care for several years - What happens if the market drops the year you retire - What happens if tax rates change - What happens if you live longer than you planned The point is not to be scared of all this. The point is to plan for it once and then go live your life. That is what I help people do. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
Is your money in the right place for retirement? That is the question most pre-retirees are really asking. Not "what is my asset allocation" or "what is my expected rate of return." Just: is my money in the right place? A good answer covers four things: - The right amount of growth for where you are in life - The right protection if the market drops near retirement - A clear plan to turn savings into income - A tax strategy so you keep more of what you have If you are not sure how your money lines up against those four, that is a great reason to have a conversation. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
Have you ever heard of a Roth conversion? The short version: it is moving money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA. You pay tax on what you move now, but the money grows tax-free and comes out tax-free in retirement. It is not right for everyone. But it can be a great tool for people who: - Are in a lower tax bracket right now than they will be later - Have retired early and have a few low-income years before Social Security starts - Want to leave tax-free money to their kids - Want to lower future required minimum distributions The window between retirement and age 73 is often the best time to think about this. If that is you, it is worth a conversation. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
Here is a topic most people have heard of but very few understand: the 5-year Medicaid look-back. In plain English: if you give away assets in the 5 years before you apply for Medicaid for long-term care, those gifts can disqualify you for a period of time. That is why long-term planning matters. The earlier a family thinks about it, the more options they have. A few things to know: - Medicaid planning is a legal topic, so it is best done with an elder law attorney - Gifting too late can cause real problems for the person needing care - There are legitimate planning tools that families use well in advance - Doing nothing and hoping it works out is the most expensive option If your parents (or you) are thinking about this, get help early. The rules are strict, but a good plan started in time gives families options. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
My team worked with a couple a while back who wanted to retire in about 10 years. They had great incomes, but they kept telling me the same thing: "It feels like everything we earn just disappears." Their goals were simple. They wanted to keep traveling. They wanted to visit their kids. They wanted to give gifts and enjoy life today. But they also wanted to feel like the future was taken care of. We built a plan that gave them three things: - A clear monthly number they could spend without guilt - A savings plan running in the background for retirement - A simple way to keep track of progress every year The result was not magic. It was clarity. They could spend on the things that mattered to them and know the future was being handled. That is what good planning does. Every plan is different and yours will be too. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
Most people think of retirement planning as just investing. But a real plan has more pieces than that. A few things that often get missed: - Life insurance to protect a spouse if something happens early - A plan for long-term care so one health event does not drain everything - An updated will and beneficiary list - Income protection while you are still working These are not the fun parts of planning. But they are the parts that protect everything else you have worked for. If you have not looked at these in a few years, it is worth a fresh review. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
Is your money in the right place for retirement? That is the question most pre-retirees are really asking. Not "what is my asset allocation" or "what is my expected rate of return." Just: is my money in the right place? A good answer covers four things: - The right amount of growth for where you are in life - The right protection if the market drops near retirement - A clear plan to turn savings into income - A tax strategy so you keep more of what you have If you are not sure how your money lines up against those four, that is a great reason to have a conversation. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
What if you do not want to manage your investments anymore? A lot of people I meet have done a great job saving. But as retirement gets closer, they realize something: they do not actually want to manage the day-to-day investing anymore. That is normal, and it is a smart thing to recognize. Retirement is supposed to be less stressful, not more. If that is you, a managed account can take that off your plate. You still know what is happening with your money, but you are not the one watching the markets every day. That is what I do for the people I work with. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
When should I take Social Security? This is one of the biggest decisions you will make in retirement, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Here is the short version: - You can start as early as 62, but your benefit is reduced - Full retirement age is 66 or 67 for most people today - Waiting until 70 gives you the largest monthly check The right answer depends on your health, your other income, your spouse, and how long you expect to live. It is worth taking the time to run the numbers before you file. If you want help thinking it through, that is something I do with clients all the time. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.
Three retirement mistakes I see most often. After working with families in our area, here are three I see again and again: - Taking Social Security too early without running the numbers - Leaving old 401(k)s scattered at past employers - Waiting until the year of retirement to build a plan None of these are the end of the world. But each one can quietly cost you thousands of dollars over the years. If any of these sound like you, it is worth a quick conversation before they cost you more. See thrivent.com/social for important disclosures.