Bill Keen - Keen on Retirement: Engineering the Second Half of Your Life

A lot has happened since I first published Keen on Retirement in 2019. During the early days of the COVID pandemic, we experienced one of the sharpest market corrections in years, a downturn that was essentially a government - induced recession due to lockdowns and social distancing. For a while, large parts of the economy practically shut down, and the future seemed bl eak.

Thankfully, the COVID correction didnt last long, and the market quickly recovered. However, the pandemic raged on. At Keen Wealth Advisors, we guided many anxious clients through those monthsnow yearsof hardship. Along the way, it occurred to me that there were some issues that ought to be addressed in my book, issues that were fresh on everyones m ind.

To that end, Ive added some new chapters and refreshed much content throughout this book in order to include some of the lessons weve learned in recent times. I also address recent changes to laws and regulations that might affect you, and Ive included some additional content on Medicare, healthcare expenses, Social Security, and m ore.

My goal with this book was always to help arm you for success in the future. In particular, I want to provide a defense against some of the alarmist media that can cause people to make harmful decisions about their own long - term financial well - being . So much negative information gets thrown at us every day, it can make difficult times even scarier than they need to be. Whether on a global level or an individual level, through a pandemic or a personal tragedy, we need solid and rational advice if were going to continue working toward a stable and prosperous financial fut ure.

I want to help you avoid making emotional mistakes by focusing on controlling only what you can control. Remember the serenity pra yer?

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the differe nce.

Its a prayer that could apply to our financial planning. With the updated information provided in this second edition, you can avoid panic and gain clarity on dealing with the latest developments that impact your finances. Staying on plan and working toward your future goals requires up - to - date information and a smart strategy. Ill give you b oth.

Youve worked a full - time job for thirty to forty years, and youre used to getting a regular paycheck. At this point, you probably operate on professional autopilot. Much of your time is accounted for. You work at least forty hours a weekits your routine. Youve grown used to it.

All of that is about to change. Retirement is approaching, and soon those regular paychecks will stop showing up in your mailbox or bank account. Your sense of financial security may well be challenged. The transition can be dramatic and, if youre unprepared, extremely diffic ult.

Or maybe youve already retired, and youre in the midst of making the adjustment to this new phase of your life. Youre looking for someone to help you on the jour ney.

The truth is most people start their retirement planning with little to no assets or investments. Throughout their careers, hopefully theyve lived within their means, made prudent financial decisions, and tried to save. Now the reality is hitting them that they need to create a new source of income for their retirement years. Its not enough to merely save and accumulate money; they have to become more thoughtful investors as they will soon be in the distribution phase of their investing lifetimes. Theyre going to live off that money for the rest of their li ves.

It can be difficult for people to wrap their minds around this change. This is why its so important to put a solid plan in place to successfully navigate the transition. There may be many ways to be successful, and you might be able to achieve it in some other way. The plan I share with you in this book has worked for my clients over the ye ars.

A good portion of the clients Ive worked with have been career engineers. In fact, engineers or employees of engineering firms make up approximately 60 percent of all the clients at my firm, Keen Wealth Advisors. They come to us for advice because they are planners by nature. They understand that it takes years of thinking, planning, and preparing to even begin to get a big project off the gro und.

They also have vast expertise in their fields, so they understand what it means to be specialists. They are fully aware that when it comes to retirement planning, they know what they dont know , and theyre willing to seek adv ice.

As retirement approaches, theyve begun to realize just how different life is going to be, and they have a limited amount of time to ensure that everything is lined up correctly to prepare for it. In fact, they only have one chance with the resources they have accumulated, so they cant afford to make any major mistakes. Realizing this, they look for specialized help, so they can get it ri ght.

Time is a priceless commodity, and, not to be morbid, theres an end date for each of us. The years go by increasingly fast, so we shouldnt wait to get our affairs in order. Beyond retirement, you want to ensure that your spouse or children are taken care of, that they wont be taken advantage of by an unscrupulous advisor, broker, or salespersonor even a scam artist or disingenuous future spousewhen youre g one.

Trying to navigate all the complexities of tax law, estate planning, investment rules, and finances on your own, along with all the emotions involved, can become a full - time job, yet the whole point of retirement is to not have to work so hard anymore. You need to put a plan in place that allows you to delegate this w ork.

When youre first starting out in your career and trying to build wealth, its easy to make bad investment decisions, especially when you have a limited perspective on the markets and economy. Maybe youve learned some hard lessons along the way, but with retirement drawing near, you can no longer afford to make major mista kes.

The news media loves to announce that the worlds coming to an end anytime the market is off by a few points in a day. Investors who lack the training or coaching to put this volatility into perspective are prone to make emotional decisions about their investments that can prove to be catastrophic. The most common emotional mistake people make is to sell their investments at a bottom in the market. Another mistake is to over - invest in the latest fad.

Often, when the market goes through a correction and experiences a downturn, people feel scared and get out of the market entirely. Then they find themselves sitting out while the market rebounds by 30, 50, 100, 200 percent or much more. Ive spoken to individuals who got out of the market in 2009 and never got back in. Meanwhile, the market rebounded by over 627 percent from March 2, 2009, through March 31, 20

In fact, heres some actual math: If you invested $200,000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 2009, you would have had about $1,368,244.50 at the beginning of 2022, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 584.12 percent, or 15.83 percent per year. In many cases, the individuals who got out of the market in early 2009 cost themselves seven figures. Thats the damage an emotional decision can make to your long - term financial well - be ing .