My Accountant never mentioned Retirement Planning

Now I Can't Afford His Service.

Only 5% of all Americans are financially independent

at Age 65.

Reasons To Keep Working
Career Choices
Work Options
News From Washington
How We Can Help

A comfortable leisurely retirement in your "golden years" has become an integral part of the American Dream.

Many people believe they have the "right" to spend their last years in a deck chair on a cruise ship, or at least in a rocking chair on their front porch. Age 65 is the magic number. If you can afford to retire before 65, you win the grand prize.

But many Americans are finding that this part of the American dream is not what it is cracked up to be. To begin with, it's worrisome. Can you really afford to retire? Pensions are shrinking. Social security looks iffy. The cost of living keeps going up.

Many people who already have retired are finding that they actually miss work. Playing golf or puttering in the garden actually get boring when you do it all day, every day.

Some retirement experts are beginning to suggest that we need to rethink retirement. They point out that retirement is a relatively new phenomenon. At the turn of the 20th.century, most people worked until they died. The first Social Security check wasn't issued until 1940. Pension plans didn't take serious root until after World War II.

In those earlier times, few people reached age 65 and fewer still reached 70.

Today, if you're reading this, there's a 50-50 chance you'll live to age 85. Living into the 90's in not uncommon. That means a retirement of 20 to 30 years. It takes a lot of money to cover that span.

None of this is to say you should give up on the idea of ever taking it easy in your old age. What is suggests is that times have changed; not following a pattern geared to different circumstances. You must think things through. How will retirement effect you emotionally and physically. Experiment with partial retired life before calling the shots.

Apart from poor health, which can force retirement, often the operative factor in choosing between retirement and continuing to work is money. The larger your pool of retirement funds, the more options you have.

If retirement life suits you, and you can afford it, go for it. But don't put yourself on the bench just because you turn 65. People in their 60's and 70's are shattering myths about working when you're older.

Myths such as these cloud the issue: Employer's don't want them; there are no jobs available; older workers are less productive, have more on-the-job accidents and make mistakes; can't learn new ways; are unreliable and their children want them to retire.

Reasons To Keep Working

You may need to keep working because you can't afford not to, at least at the income level you would like. But there are also more positive reasons to continue to work; you find purpose and meaning in work, it keeps you young and healthy, you enjoy being with people and a "part of the world," you have much yet to contribute, you have personal dreams to fulfill.

Career Choices

Not retiring doesn't mean you have to keep plugging away in your current job. You can change jobs, change careers, go back to school, take special classes to learn a new career, volunteer your time, or start a new business.

Work Options

You don't have to work 9-5. You can work part time, work flexible schedules, or telecommute. You can work at home or on temporary assignments, interspersed with leisurely sabbaticals.

News From Washington

We are CPA's, Financial Planner, Business Valuers, and Attorney. We use computer programs to determine what you need to retire.

Our program considers your sale of home, purchase of retirement home, your choices for pension withdrawals, social security, inflation, estate planning, and tax consequences. We then give you other choices to maximize your goals.

We guide you with advice on what is necessary to meet your retirement goals.