Too many retirement plans are built around a single savings target. In reality, longevity, healthcare costs, market volatility, and evolving personal goals demand a far more flexible approach. A durable retirement strategy is not about hitting a number. It is about building a plan that can adapt to life’s twists and turns.
Retirement planning is often reduced to a single number. A savings target. A portfolio value. A finish line. In my experience, that mindset is one of the biggest reasons plans fail in real life.
Retirement is not a math equation. It is another chapter of someone’s life story. And life is not a straight road. It is full of twists and turns that we cannot predict. Healthcare changes. Families evolve. Priorities shift. Markets move. Inflation lingers. When we build a retirement plan around a single number, we create something rigid in a world that is anything but.
I often describe retirement to clients as climbing a mountain. As you climb, clouds cover the peak, so you cannot clearly see the top. Everyone’s summit looks different. Some people want to stop working entirely and travel. Others want to slow down, work part time, or pursue a passion project that still generates income. Retirement is deeply personal.
Then comes the descent. Once you reach retirement, you begin climbing down the other side of the mountain. The clouds are still there, and now you cannot see the bottom either. That is longevity risk. That is uncertainty around healthcare costs. That is inflation quietly reshaping purchasing power over decades. If the plan is not flexible, the descent becomes dangerous.
One of the most overlooked variables in retirement planning is spending. Advisors frequently take a client’s word for what their monthly expenses look like. Historically, clients underestimate their true spending, sometimes by as much as 50 percent. On paper, the plan works. In reality, it unravels.
That is why we ask for the last six months of banking statements during the planning process. We itemize what is actually coming in and going out. We build projections based on real numbers, then factor in inflation to show what future spending may look like. Only then can we determine whether someone is truly on track or needs to adjust by saving more, repositioning investments, or trimming unnecessary expenses.
When it comes to balancing growth and income, simplicity matters. Many investors still reference the traditional four percent rule, the idea that you can withdraw four percent annually and live off portfolio income without touching principal. In today’s environment, with heightened volatility and shifting return expectations, that approach can be difficult to sustain.
Instead, we use a bucket strategy. We segment assets by time horizon. The first bucket covers short term needs, typically zero to three years. That money is safe, liquid, and not exposed to market risk. It is there to meet expenses regardless of market conditions.
The second bucket covers roughly three to seven years. Here we use more moderate investments, often fixed income and lower volatility strategies that aim to outpace inflation without taking excessive risk.
The third bucket is long term capital. This is where we can afford to be more growth oriented because we do not need immediate access. That capital has time to recover from market downturns and replenish the earlier buckets over time.
This structure allows clients to participate in market growth while maintaining a safe distribution strategy. It avoids over engineering portfolios and keeps the plan grounded in practical cash flow needs.
Another common mistake is relying on outdated retirement models. Not everyone retires on a specific date and never works again. Many people phase into retirement, shift careers, or continue working part time. If an advisor does not clearly understand what retirement looks like for that individual, the plan will miss the mark from day one.
We place a strong emphasis on visualization. Before retirement, we ask clients to define what that chapter looks like. We revisit those conversations annually because goals evolve. Plans must evolve with them.
We also use conservative return assumptions, even for aggressive investors. Planning with a disciplined long term assumption forces realism into the conversation. If the plan works under conservative projections, clients can feel confident across different market environments.
Healthcare remains one of the largest wild cards. Long term care, in home assistance, and cognitive support can carry significant monthly costs. Without proactive planning, families may be forced to liquidate assets or rely on state support, undermining the legacy they hoped to leave.
For younger generations, retirement planning must evolve further. They are less attached to traditional timelines but still value financial independence. They also have access to a far broader investment universe, from cryptocurrency to private markets. Education is critical. If investors do not understand risk and time horizon, volatility can discourage them from investing altogether. Personalized advice, accessible platforms, and ongoing education help create adaptable plans that reflect real life.