Retirement Planning

The second annual Lincoln Long Life^SM Survey 2 found that respondents - affluent Americans in their sixties - feel they are well prepared for retirement, but they may not be as ready as they think.

The good news is that the majority have taken meaningful retirement steps such as:

55% have a comprehensive financial plan
52% have long-term goals for asset levels.
Approximately 50% have set current spending targets, and of this group, 93% say they've been able to stay within budget.

On the flip side, cost ofliving does not seem to decrease during retirement. Two-thirds of both retired (69%) and non-retired (8%) respondents estimate they have spent up to $80,000 within the past 12 months. And, roughly half (46%) of those surveyed spend more time thinking about their next vacation than managing their finances so their assets will last a lifetime.

Thus, despite their preparation, survey respondents cite their greatest financial fears (in order of significance) as outlasting their money, losing money or assets, loss of financial independence and being dependent on children or the state.

In today's economic environment,these concerns are legitimate. In fact,only 2% of Americans reach financial independence in their retirement years (see the pie chart on the following page). You can improve your chances for a successful retirement through ongoing coordination and planning. Our retirement planning services include:

Needs assessment: We first determine the amount of income you need in retirement and how education funding and other accumulation goals may impact your ability to save enough money. We will work together to regularly measure your progress to determine whether you'll meet your desired time frame with the assets you require.

Retirement income modeling: Financial modeling tools can help protect you from outliving your resources in retirement. They can also determine whether you have adequate resources to provide gifts or inheritances to your family without jeopardizing your financial independence.

Benefits analysis: Fringe benefit choices should be coordinated with your retirement objectives and your overall retirement plan.

Distribution options: An examination ofthe impact income and estate taxes may have on your selected distribution alternatives will be necessary to complete the picture ofyour retirement resources.

Long-term care: With the potentially catastrophic costs oflong-term health care, we consider how to avoid the devastating impact a long-term care situation could have on your retirement and estate plan.

A key component of our retirement planning services is providing you with a present value analysis of your current retirement position, and an assessment of your needs and objectives to determine how much money you expect to spend between now and retirement. Finally, we examine your resources, including current salary, expected payouts from Social Security, your qualified plan benefits and any savings or investments. Where investments are appropriate, we utilize our five-step investment planning process, described in the previous section.