Financial Planning Competency Handbook, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 59 Retirement Income and Distribution Strategies

Dave Yeske, DBA, CFP^®

Golden Gate University

Elissa Buie, MBA, CFP^®

Golden Gate University

CONNECTIONS DIAGRAM

Retirement income and distribution strategies may involve the use of insurance products, including immediate and deferred annuities (risk management and insurance planning), investment strategies designed to preserve purchasing power throughout the length of retirement (investment planning), and tradeoffs between retirement income security and legacy goals (estate planning).

INTRODUCTION

One of the most common client goals addressed by financial planners is planning for a comfortable retirement. In addressing this goal, the planner must account for two distinct phases: the saving phase (planning for the accumulation of adequate retirement capital) and the distribution phase (planning to sustainably meet client spending needs throughout retirement). The saving or accumulation phase encompasses, in turn, many different domains within financial planning, including decisions about how much to save relative to retirement and other goals, as well as where to save, how to invest those savings, and how to protect the earnings over the life cycle. These in turn require decisions related to general financial planning (time value of money calculations), tax and estate planning, investment planning, and risk management. ...