The Worst Retirement Plan EVER, Ep #7 

<p>What does THE worst retirement plan I’ve ever seen look like? What should you avoid when you craft your retirement plan? Once you make certain decisions—there’s no going back. You need to understand the choices you’re making and how it will impact your future. </p> <p>In this episode of Retirement Made Easy, I share a story about the worst retirement plan I’ve ever seen. I explain what makes it so cringe-worthy—including the SIX mistakes that were made—and what you should do instead. </p> <h2>You’ll want to hear this episode if you want to avoid costly mistakes:</h2> <ul> <li>[1:52] Mistake #1: Excluding your spouse from planning</li> <li>[5:16] Mistake #2: Single-life annuity pension option</li> <li>[8:05] Mistake #3: Making the wrong social security election(s)</li> <li>[9:43] Mistake #4: Relying on a possible inheritance </li> <li>[13:16] Mistake #5: Withdrawing too much from your retirement plan</li> <li>[16:37] Mistake #6: Choosing the wrong beneficiary</li> </ul> <h2>Mistake #1: Leaving your spouse out of retirement planning</h2> <p>In this story, we’ll change the man’s name to George. George is 72 years old and his wife is 8 years younger (64). She wasn’t present at the meeting with me, and I asked why. George said “My wife doesn’t need to know anything about retirement. She trusts me 100%.” That’s the #1 problem. It’s a HUGE mistake: both spouses <em>need</em> to know the ins and outs of what’s going on in case something happens to the other person. <em>Plan your retirement with your spouse</em>.</p> <h2>Mistake #2: Choosing a single-life annuity option for your pension</h2> <p>When George told me he was collecting a monthly pension, I asked: Is it a 100% survivorship pension? Is it a 50% survivorship? Turns out, he chose the <em>single-life annuity option</em>, which means he receives $2,500 a month for the rest of his life—but upon his death his wife gets <em>nothing</em>. To make matters worse, George doesn't have life insurance either. Why is that a problem? Listen to find out!</p> <h2>Mistake #3: