"This couple was wise in coming to see us at a stage in life where most individuals haven’t given much thought to retirement. Having almost 10 years until Shane’s retirement gave us the opportunity to first get his financial affairs in order and on track for retirement. Even more importantly we were then able to dive into the discussions of how he would utilize his passions and unique abilities after retirement and identify what resources would be needed for his wife and daughter." —Jerry Black, Founder & Managing Principal

Challenges

• Shane and Laurie did not have a good grasp of what their capital needs might be during retirement.

• The couple did not know when to exercise the stock options they were holding so they would provide maximum benefit with the least tax consequences.

• Shane Winfield’s pension plan had over twenty options on how to take his pension, which was overwhelming, and he needed assistance on clarifying which option would best provide for his family in the case of his untimely death.

• Shane wanted to plan for not only the financial side of retirement, but also the overall life transition and lack of structure in retirement. He wanted to be financially stable so he could focus on volunteering and lending his efforts to causes that are important to Laurie and him.

• Shane wanted an advisor he could trust to work with and coach his wife and daughter on financial matters if anything were to happen to him.

Solutions

• The Legacy team first worked to help the Winfields gain clarity on their current financial picture, and then worked to provide them with various retirement scenarios at different income levels.

• After presenting this information to the Winfields, their advisor invited the couple to an event Legacy sponsored with the Halftime organization, called “Moving from Success to Significance”. The powerful messages about using one’s second half of life for impact motivated Shane to look intently at his core competencies and capabilities. Shane was then equipped to decide where he wants to be and how he wants to effectively spend his time in retirement.

• Legacy developed a strategy for the stock options that lowered risk, diversified timing of the exercise options, and reduced tax liability. We presented this information to Shane and Laurie in an easy to understand format that instructed them exactly when to exercise the options, how many to exercise, and how to use the funds based on the extra cash flow.

• Utilizing financial planning software and drawing from discussions we had with the Winfields, the Legacy advisors ran the pension numbers for each given option and presented different risk scenarios. This clarity allowed Shane and Laurie to think about what they wanted the pension to do for them, namely protect Laurie and their daughter if anything were to happen to Shane. Once they judged the risk and decided on the primary use of the pension, the choice on what pension option to choose became clear.

• Legacy made it a point to bring in Laurie for meetings so she understood the accounts the family owned. We also made sure that Shane was well covered from a life insurance standpoint.

Ongoing Results

This couple was very wise in coming to see us in their early 50s, when retirement wasn’t even on most of their peers’ minds. Having over 10 years until Shane’s retirement gave us the opportunity to first focus on getting his financial affairs in order and on track for retirement. Even more importantly we were then able to dive into the discussions of how he would utilize his passions and unique abilities after retirement and identifying what resources would be needed for his wife and daughter.

The Winfield’s story poses a common dilemma that affluent individuals face, which is converting business success during your working years into useful life purpose after retirement. At Legacy, we view the retirement stage of life a little differently than most. We find what we do and how we approach retirement is fundamentally different than most advisors. Instead of only focusing on the dollar amount in an IRA, we are more inclined to ask the questions, “What will you do to feel fulfilled in retirement?” and “How can you serve and benefit others during retirement?” It’s asking questions like this that really impacted the Winfields to think past day one of retirement.

_{While this client story is true, names and certain information have been changed to protect identities.}