4 Uncomfortable Retirement Truths You Need To Hear

[@MargaretWest-m8u]

Retirees who struggle to make ends meet are often those who didn't accumulate enough wealth during their working years. The choices you make regarding your retirement investments can have a significant impact. My parents both spent the same number of years in the civil service, but my mom invested through a wealth manager while my dad stuck with his 401(k).

[@HotManP-l5g]

This resonates with me. I’m in my mid-50s now, and my wife and I were following a similar path. Two years ago, I shifted my funds to her wealth manager’s guidance. While I’m not matching her returns yet, I’m definitely seeing higher gains than I would have with just the 401(k). My retirement fund is growing faster than ever-even before I officially retire!

[@FrankJaaay]

It’s unfortunate that many people lack access to this kind of information. It’s understandable why some panic when they don’t have the right guidance. Personally, I've earned over $287k passively by investing through an advisor, without the need for much involvement. Whether the economy is booming or volatile, a skilled wealth manager consistently delivers results.

[@Toni__Michelle]

How can I find a trusted financial planner like yours?

[@FrankJaaay]

I consistently recommend Rebecca Lynne Buie as my top choice. She is well-known for her expertise in financial markets and has an impressive track record. I highly endorse her services.

[@maxpayne7419]

I retired last year at age 54. I have recently shifted my focus from wealth planning to health planning. I’m average health right now - but I am now transforming my diet and exercise routine. It feels great to take control of my health!

[@cobevizio6228]

$9500 is shocking, I listen to you all the time, you’re the real thing

[@KeelySoucy]

I’ve been diligently working, saving and contributing towards early retirement and financial freedom, but since covid outbreak, the economy so far has caused my portfolio to underperform, do I keep contributing to my 401k or look at alternative sectors to meet my goals?

[@RicardoBell-z5t]

keep contributing to your 401K, remember you are in for the long haul, but I'd suggest you consider financial advisory

[@KeelySoucy]

Noted and can you pls direct me to a financial adviser? I’m in dire need of one

[@RicardoBell-z5t]

My financial adviser is Gabriel Alberto William , he is not just a broker, he is a financial adviser that gives advice on any financial matters

[@KeelySoucy]

I ran an online search with his full name and came across his website, pretty well educated. Thank you for sharing

[@barbaraearlybird569]

How about Kevin Lum?

[@floydchusset3143]

I’m 58 and my wife 54 we are both retired with over $1 million in net worth and no debts. Currently living smart and frugal with our money. Saving and investing lifestyle in the stock market made it possible for us this early even till now we earn weekly.

[@johnjones850]

How are you approaching health insurance at 58? I’m curious, because my goal is to retire at 55, and health insurance seems to be my only obstacle, till I hit 65 Medicare age. Thanks for any insight

[@Toys4Life]

California used to be one of the best states in the U.S. 9k for homeowners insurance? How many reasons does a person need to leave California?

[@mariatreloar9482]

I retire January 1st, and agree that shifting from saving to spending is going to be difficult to do. I have always been an obsessive saver coming from a childhood of poverty. I have been focusing on that needed shift psychologically for several months to prepare for it. Great video and relevant content.

[@glenn71144]

I am 60. Very grateful for my health. My hikes, which i do several times per week, are 5 miles or more. I'm not retired yet, but I'm just grateful for my health so i can retire when i want to and not retire when i have to retire.

[@OurWullie007]

Kevin, the best video to date! In about 12 mins, you summed up 4 solid truths. Your 3rd truth though I think was the best, what is the point of hours\days\years of financial planning if you haven’t put the same investment into your own personal health at the same time. Kevin, I very much appreciate you taking the time and being balanced in offering not just financial but a holistic approach to the questions you seem to know we all have.

[@foundryfinancial]

Thank you! 🙏

[@dominic8218]

Great Vlog Kevin. Your Health is your wealth. So important to have a buffer for unknown expenses 👌🏻

[@Sylvan_dB]

Shifting from saving to spending: It is hard. One thing that helped me, is years before retirement I changed to have my employer deposit my paycheck into my brokerage account instead of my checking account. I set up a regular transfer from brokerage to checking and managed my brokerage account to have the cash available (mostly dividend income). The last few years before retirement I started mostly accumulating cash instead of investing, so I had cash for several years of necessary spending. After I retired the only thing that changed is the deposits from my employer into my brokerage ceased, leaving me less cash to invest (which I had been mostly letting pile up anyway).

[@douglashank8480]

That was a brilliant idea, Sylvan_dB!

[@alikabok-es4sx]

"Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans." Key lesson, plan for retirement, have a focus and a plan, but always live each day as if it's your last. Peace.

[@DP-ol5uv]

Your expense plan has been the one with the most surprises….inflation cost, insurance premium increases, and unexpected expenses…

[@msgaltman3075]

Great video. No question about it...#3 is the key to the kingdom. Your health is everything. What you should emphasize more directly is that if your have poor health no only will you not enjoy your retirement, you may very well drain your savings far, far faster than you plan putting you in the horror of all horrors, poor and poor health

[@Akadohds]

Great video! I retired at 56 in April 2019 so 5 years 6 months now, 100% agree with your 4 uncomfortable truths!

[@foundryfinancial]

Any I missed?

[@bdtrap]

@Akadohds how difficult was it for you to mentally make the pivot from saver to spender? P.s. congratulations on your retirement!! 🎉

[@Akadohds]

Sorry it took me a while to respond to - any I missed ? Actually the biggest one for me after being married for 38.5 years and working 30 years at a job that I left the house at 3.30 am and didn’t get home till 6:00 pm. After being retired for 5.5 years and being around my wife 24 hours a day, there are days I’m pretty sure my wife can’t stand to be around me. I didn’t see that coming. Definitely something people need to think about!

[@Akadohds]

Making the pivot from saver to spender not so bad. I did a lot of planning and preparation. Always been a saver and realized material things didn’t make me happy. Having said that it seems the world has changed a lot in the last 5.5 years - covid, inflation, political divide. However my savings have grown quite a bit in that 5.5 years. I am fully retired, no income, living on savings using the bucket system, 6 - 7 years in bucket 1, HY savings, CD, bonds etc., and 60/40 portfolio.

[@RichardGeorge-pz3wm]

Great video. Age, she and I, 60. I'm retiring next year, she does side gigs, real estate (more nuisance than its worth these days), online auctions, etc. SSI taking at 62: $4100/mo, credit debt: zero. Child: 22, homeowner, fully self-sufficient. Assets: $820k liquid, $500k real estate equity. Cars: all owned outright, I do all maintenance on them and the house. Medical: ACA until 65 plus HSA for out of pocket expenses. Traveling plans: (w/dog) he goes with us in an RV. We'll be ok.

[@BradleyMaurice226]

I retired at 62 and went on Obamacare. No premium payments for 3 years by using the bronze plan and keeping income below the subsidy limit. Packed a HSA to cover the deductible. I got lucky and with the right investment planner, returns actually had more in my HSA after I reached medicare age compared to when I first retired.

[@EdwinBoettcher]

More and more people might face a tough time in retirement. Low-paying jobs, inflation, and high rents make it hard to save. Now, middle-class Americans find it tough to own a home too, leaving them without a place to retire.

[@Robert-jd6xc]

The bottom line is got from this: Don't ever move to Californa, and certainly don't ever retire in California.

[@andydogdixon1]

Yes, yes, yes…. I’ve been around a while and now as an elderly man who has traveled world sometimes on the shoestring, not knowing what’s coming next, just leave your best life do good to others. Love your family, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised toward the end, which is where I am now. I am living proof. If you are really young, try to figure out a way to go see parts of the worlds unknown. If you’re middle-aged, just go along and keep working. And if you were old like me just chill and breathe deep breaths. Gratitude. Solace. Be arrested and enjoy while you have left. Don’t worry about what’s right or wrong. You know that anyway. We learn riding wrong as we get old. That’s not something that comes in youth . Enjoy yourselves and until then cheers!

[@douglashank8480]

#4 was an incredible shock because it came unexpectedly, because of a bad injury, more than a decade earlier than expected. I think I'll be okay in the long term, largely because some bad decisions early in adulthood taught me to live well below my means. It sucked at the time, but now I'm thanking God for those painful early lessons! ...and for the near-miracle that my hard-headed younger self actually learned from them.

[@brianwhitmore5151]

Great video! When I retired 4 years ago, I wanted to retire in a tropical location. Southern Florida satisfied that. So, sold home in the North and downsized to a condo in southern Florida. It was great ….until the then reasonable HOA realized they didn’t have enough in reserves and increased the monthly HOA 33%. The next year 27%. Condo insurance increased 47% in one year. That was enough for me. I ended up selling at a small loss to an investor and moved to San Antonio, TX. Forbes cost-of-living calculator showed spending $1.00 in FL would be $0.68 in San Antonio. We are proving that correct. It may be a bit cooler in the winter, but it’s fine. You are correct when you say “Retirement is not a straight line.” 👍

[@chrisforker7487]

The biggest challenge has been getting my wife to enjoy the money that we’ve worked so hard to accumulate! We worked hard and should be spending more of it on things we want to do.

[@joeysocks5718]

Yes health #1. I have a friend who is 73 and dealing with dementia. It’s sad to see

[@jimhoge3252]

Amen on #4!

[@barbaraearlybird569]

Just before we retired, we lost our home in an unexpected urban wildfire. Before the fire, a couple neighbors said I was crazy to pay such high premiums. After the fire, my husband and I were 90% covered for our rebuild, while my neighbors were under-insured by more than $500K - some $700K. The $2K a year I had paid in premiums over what my neighbors paid meant we could afford to rebuild pretty much what we had before, plus we were able to retire as previously planned. My poor neighbors must work years extra, and their mortgages will never be paid off. Rebuilding costs after our disaster were much much higher than what we would have gotten from a sale. So make sure you are insured for how much it costs to rebuild -- not what you could sell your house for. Do not let yourself be underinsured.

[@ppw8716]

All very valid points. I shared this with a coworker who’s afraid to retire. I’ve left because of a personal loss that made the decision so easy for me. I have coworkers who would say, “I don’t want to retire, I like the money”. Oh well…

[@todddunn945]

The biggest unexpected events that impacted my retirement plan were the recent run up in interest rates and the accompanying increase in house values. Those two things combined pushed my income and taxes way up and also significantly increased my net worth. I have managed to deal with the impacts though. As I am almost 80, I no longer have any concerns about growth in my portfolio. My health is what it is. I set up my health care options so poor health can't impact me financially. That is simple to do. I have not yet made the transition from saving to spending. The reason for that is that my base income is more than I need to maintain my life style. Consequently I have no reason to draw from my savings. I could, but can't see any reason to since I don't know what I would spend more money on. Heck, I am already downsizing my life and even sold one of my yachts 3 years ago.

[@joking6052]

My question to you sir, with all due respect of course, I am baffled why people, including myself, do not enjoy the money with the little time and health that they may still have when we get old ? All of our lives we deprived ourselves and saved all that we could and now we are here and what now ? I have many wealthy friends whom refuse to spend any of their money, I can't figure it out.

[@todddunn945]

@@joking6052 I didn't say I wasn't enjoying my life. Personally I do anything I want without considering the cost. I retired when I was 50, so I wasn't exactly depriving myself of anything.

[@jnkoa33]

Thank you. Subscribed

[@jkbc]

you can make all the almost perfect plans, but tomorrow has never been guaranteed for you.

[@glynysthomas8578]

Super helpful. Thank you.

[@LiesureSuitLarry]

I don't understand the end game for Insurance companies. No CA, No FL, No Coastal areas... are they planning on just writing policies in safe zones in the midwest?

[@jeanr8359]

Tornadoes in Midwest…. In NE not bad… not many natural disasters

[@mh3841]

I changed insurance 2 days ago. By switching from State Farm to AAA, I saved 30% on home insurance and 75% on car insurance. Unbelievable! For me, if I stayed with the same insurance company for too long, the premium would keep increasing until I said STOP! I had to switch from Farmers to State Farm, then AAA for the same reason. So, it never hurts to shop around. Hopefully, you can still find affordable insurance in your area. Don't over pay it. Good luck. 😊

[@mh3841]

@@barbaraearlybird569 No insurance company ever offered me "long-term customer discount" even after I stayed with Farmers for 10+ years. They only increased my premium every year when I renewed, so you are with a good insurance company that gives you a discount. Great! I agree with you that homeowners should not buy cheap insurance. When I shop around, I compare apples to apples, otherwise I wouldn't consider changing insurance companies. Buying home insurance is trickier than auto insurance. It's hard to find good ones. When I was in CA, I was denied by the Farmers' claims adjuster for leaking/water damage a few years ago. I ended up fixing it myself, not a big deal. But I feel bad the home insurance providers in Florida denied more than 37,000 claims following Hurricanes Helene and Milton. They also closed 76,428 homeowner claims without payment to policyholders in 2023. Again, you are lucky to be with a good insurance company. Many others just wasted time and money. I also pay around $2000 with a $10,000 deductible now, I can only pray nothing will happen to my house. :)

[@Indus5950]

Mr. Kevin Lum, point 3 is the best awakening to me, I was spending too much time on other 3 points. I like your holistic view. Thank you. A retiree. I will contact you thru your website.

[@joking6052]

Worst case scenario, one way to deal with exorbitant insurance prices is to have a small home that you have paid off and cancel your insurance. When I was a child, we never had home insurance because our house was a very small and modest at best . I have never seen anyone lose their home to fire, flood, or any natural disaster . That 's what I will do when they quadruple my premiums.

[@williamread8186]

Health is the most uncertain for sure. It can turn south very quickly despite your best efforts.

[@emerald640]

Depending on your financial situation you may consider what many in Florida are doing witch is carry liability insurance and going to self insuring for property. That means you spend 500 to 1000 for liability and keep the 8000 a year for wind , sewer, lightning and fire damage. You are gambling that if your house is properly maintained you have no fire , witch is the biggest Many utilities offer sewer damage insurance for a few dollars a month. and absorb tree and wind damage yourself.

[@joking6052]

Like the wise man said, " you are not going to run out of money, you are running out of time".

[@johnnyretires]

It a amazing to me that people think that they can plan retirement out to 20-30 years. Even 10 years isn’t possible. I plan out 5-6 years. My plan includes dynamic spending Just like before I was retired.

[@TeslaRules1856]

Health and longevity is the big issue. If you put off big traveling and activities till you retired - you may find mobility and health issues may limit all those things you planned to do. You or your spouse may not live as long as you hoped. Do them now ASAP. If you own your own home (and you should in retirement with all improvements done) you don't have to carry home insurance or full insurance.Think carefully about risks (if any) of where you live and weather you could afford to spend money to repair you home.

[@curtisrandolph1887]

Pay off your mortgage. Get a policy with a $50,000 deductible. Pay off your car. Drop to liability only.

[@johnscott2746]

I paid off all debts but kept the best insurance I could get. Good thing too because I totaled my truck last year and they paid me enough that I could add some to it and get a model five years newer. Instead of figuring ways to scrimp , figure ways to have enough money to live comfortably.

[@curtisrandolph1887]

@@johnscott2746 I self insure and accept the risk. At my age if I total my car I will just buy a good used older vehicle. I’m not going to send my money to an insurance company. Individuals situations are unique. Mine is f-word the insurance companies.

[@petewilson2314]

3-4 years our from retiring and I'm already having anxiety attacks about not having positive cash flow

[@SunvalleyMetaphysical]

Nice One!

[@bdtrap]

#2 is the most difficult for me. It's a hard to swallow pill that #2 is simply out of our control. We can be flexible with our plan and adapt to situational outcomes; we can maintain our physical/mental/spiritual/emotional health; we can become comfortable spenders... we can struggle through and conquer those things definitively .... but all we can do for #2 is put protective measures in place and weather the storm when it happens. Thats a tough thing for control freaks -- er, um, I mean, planners 😂 -- like myself to accept.

[@JBoy340a]

Strange your insurance got cancelled. We live in CA and pay low rates. No issues with getting coverage at reasonable rates. Do you live in an area that has fires or other hazards?

[@OldManDave1960]

He said he doesn't

[@ninajohnson6578]

Surprises:death of my husband, daughters divorce after birth special needs child, health issues and major roofing crisis and replacement.

[@RetrieverTrainingAlone]

Any advice for "sudden wealth" via inheritance recently invested in Fidelity mutual funds? Make withdrawals from the new Fidelity accounts or make withdrawals from the 401k accounts? Does it matter in terms of taxes and RMD five years from now?

[@Psuedo-Nim]

I'm not increasing my spending in retirement. We're going to gut spending down to the bone, to the essentials, and see what we have left at the end of the first year or two, then decide what we can afford to do. Year one is going to be a quiet, do nothing, eat at home, do not vacation learning experience. Sell down to just one vehicle. I'm contemplating finding another career when I retire from my first one. Though I'm lucky and have a pension and healthy 401k, and retirement paid employer health coverage, knowing that social security probably won't be there (it'll be cut, or means tested so those who actually worked for a living will lose it) and our supposedly non taxed roth accounts will be raided by an every greedy government who plans to tax even unearned gains just tells me there is no safe retirement for anyone who isn't ultra rich.

[@Carlos00762]

One option, retire overseas. Much better healthcare and much more affordable coverage in most countries. Also, food quality much better and less obesity for better living.

[@cutehumor]

Health is the most important. I rather be working poor and live with good health to age 100. Instead of having millions saved and with health issues and die at 75

[@todddunn945]

The problem is that you can't anticipate when a major health issue will pop up. My best friend developed a serious cancer when he was 68. He died from it 9 months later despite going through all the treatments. Similarly my little brother fell ill on his 71st birthday and died a week later. No one saw it coming.

[@cutehumor]

@@todddunn945 I'm sorry your brother and your best friend passed. I'm 47 and using the IRS rule of 55 to early retire to mitigate what your family went through. I have over saved the past two decades to early retire because of the fear of being sick in my 60's and 70s.

[@MarkBush-en5cz]

When you retire you begin a race between your finances and your death. You are betting that you will die before you will be broke. Becoming health conscious is nice but potentially problematic if not planned for. You may be healthy and broke. Working extra years changes the fulcrum on the balancing act. More money and fewer years. This is fine if your job is not slowly killing you through stress and you can tolerate it.

[@marksirota3153]

Hello Kevin, I wanted to get your opinion about investing in bitcoin and cryptocurrency. My nephew is my CFP and he is not a fan of it. Thank you for your response.

[@7SideWays]

A huge benefit of paying off your house is being able to give the finger to insurance. I dare them to f with me. Same with car full coverage. Reduce expenses for freedom!

[@OliviaAlice-ht4vt]

personally,I think people should venture Into trading since the economic meltdown, having one stream of income is not really a good idea.

[@theDMLair]

Are you kidding me? YOU LIVE IN CALIFORNIA. Leave that ceasepool of taxes and bad policies and you'll find EVERYTHING costs less. I have a $350k house (2500 sq ft, nice neighborhood) and pay $1200 annually for property insurance.

[@karenk3593]

All your thumbnails look so depressing.

[@petewilson2314]

Take home #1 - don't retire in CA

[@jacktolmachoff7547]

get on with it

[@nishiki393]

You know there are speed controls don't you? I like his more relaxed style and if I need to I can always bump it up to 1.25x (you can go up to 2x if you want). I want him to remain natural and his normal self because he's great as is!

[@markthomas2436]

Move away from California.... while you can STILL sell your house, people!