How Far Behind is Your Retirement?

We are on the verge of a retirement crisis.

According to a recent survey by TD Ameritrade, the average Boomer is $500k behind on the retirement savings they will need to comfortably retire.  How far behind are YOU?  Retirement planning may seem like something you can delay; the truth is that the longer you delay, the worse the outcome.  Most people need a plan, a solid strategy and a coach to keep them on track.

Here are some key items to help you evaluate your current state.

Key items:

1. If you are in the top 20% of household income (above $100k) and want to maintain your lifestyle in retirement, you will need some substantial savings from 401k, IRA’s and taxable accounts. Depending on your circumstances, pension and social security, you may need $1.5MM to $5MM in retirement savings.
2. Track your net worth (NW) every year. The only way to improve personal net worth is to measure and track it over time. Start now. What is your net NW, not including your primary residence?
3. The moment of truth! Calculate your projected NW index (adapted from Thomas Stanley – author of “Millionaire Next Door” and “Stop Acting Rich”). Projected NW index = your 3 year average household W2 x your age x 10%. For example: 45 year old couple with household income of $150k. Projected NW is $150k x 45 x .1 = $675k NW outside of your house.
4. So how are you doing? What is your personal NW today (answer to #2) divided by your projected NW index in item 3? Are you 40% of this number, 75% of this number? 100%? 125%+? In Thomas Stanley’s survey of millionaires:
   1. The top 25% of millionaires had an actual NW of 184% of their projected NW index. This means that they had 84% more NW than was expected for their age and income level.
   2. The bottom 25% of millionaires had an actual NW of 60% of their projected NW index. This means that had 40% less NW than was expected for their age and income level.
5. Take action! If you have a personal NW of less than 100% of your projected NW, you are behind. Time is not on your side. In most cases, you will need 10 to 20 years to course correct. Do not delay. If you do nothing, here are some projected outcomes:
   1. You may have to work longer or never retire.
   2. You may have less of a retirement lifestyle than expected.
   3. You may be more dependent on Government assistance. (PS: The Government is in worse shape than you are!)
   4. You may be more dependent on your kids and family to support your retirement.
   5. All of the above.
6. Two free offers:
   1. If you have over $400k in investable assets (taxable, IRA and 401k) and would like a free 2^nd opinion, contact us at 303-549-4720
   2. I am doing a summer book tour with the book “Playing the Winners Game – Invest like Buffett” by Larry Swedroe. If you would like a free copy, email me your mailing address (Invest@integrityia.com). I have 30 free books to send and will send it to you if you promise to 1) review the book, 2) take action if you see value and 3) pass the book on to someone you care about.

About Integrity Investment Advisors:
At IntegrityIA, we believe most people are busy, over scheduled, and overworked.  We realize your time is dominated by the “crisis of the moment” and your task list is overflowing.  You work hard for your money, and you want your money to work hard for you.   We want that for you too.

Integrity Investment Advisors, LLC is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisory Firm.  We are headquartered in Colorado and serve clients on a national basis.

If you know anyone who may benefit from our services, please contact us.  2013 Press Release: Integrity Investment Advisors, LLC and Managing Partner Todd Moerman are pleased to have recently joined an exclusive group of wealth managers offering the low cost mutual funds of Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) to its clients.