What Randy Rondberg Wants Arizona Families to Know Before They Retire

By Randy Rondberg

Retirement should be something you look forward to.

But for many families, the closer retirement gets, the more questions begin to surface.

Have we saved enough?

When should we start Social Security?

How much can we comfortably spend?

What happens if the market falls?

How will we pay for healthcare?

Will our income keep up with rising costs?

Can we actually afford to enjoy the retirement we have spent decades preparing for?

After 25 years in the financial services field and years of working with individuals and families through Nation’s First Financial, I have seen how common these questions are.

For Arizona families approaching retirement, my advice is simple:

Do not wait until your last day of work to start figuring out how retirement will work.

The transition from earning a paycheck to living from the resources you have accumulated deserves careful thought.

Here are some of the most important things I believe families should consider before entering retirement.

1. Know What Retirement Actually Costs You

One of the most important numbers in retirement planning is not necessarily the amount in your retirement account.

It is the amount you need to live.

Before you retire, take the time to understand your actual household expenses.

Start with the essentials:

• Housing

• Utilities

• Food

• Transportation

• Insurance

• Healthcare

• Taxes

Then consider the expenses that make retirement enjoyable:

• Travel

• Hobbies

• Entertainment

• Dining out

• Helping family

• Charitable giving

Finally, account for expenses that may not occur every month but can still have a major impact:

• Home repairs

• Vehicle replacement

• Dental work

• Medical expenses

• Family emergencies

• Major purchases

A retirement budget should not be designed to make you afraid to spend money.

It should help you understand what your lifestyle requires so you can build an income strategy around it.

2. Understand Where Your Retirement Income Will Come From

During your working years, income is usually predictable.

Your paycheck arrives.

Retirement changes that.

Your income may come from several different places, such as:

• Social Security

• Pensions

• 401(k)s

• IRAs

• Personal savings

• Investment accounts

• Insurance or annuity income

• Part-time work

• Other assets

The important question is not simply how much money you have accumulated.

The question is:

How will those resources work together to create the income you need?

Different income sources may have different tax considerations, withdrawal rules, levels of predictability, and exposure to market changes.

Understanding those differences before you retire can help you make more informed decisions.

3. Social Security Should Be Part of a Bigger Conversation

One of the most common questions retirees face is when to claim Social Security.

It is an important decision.

But it should not be considered in isolation.

Your Social Security decision may interact with:

• your other retirement income

• your spouse’s benefits

• your expected retirement date

• your health and longevity considerations

• your savings

• your household expenses

• your broader income strategy

The goal should not simply be to choose a claiming age because a friend, relative, or television personality said it was the “best” option.

The better question is:

What approach makes sense for our household and our overall retirement plan?

4. Think About Market Risk Differently as Retirement Approaches

When retirement is still decades away, market declines can feel uncomfortable, but you may have time to recover.

Retirement can change the equation.

Once you begin withdrawing money from your accounts, significant market declines can become more complicated because you may be taking distributions at the same time your portfolio is experiencing losses.

That does not mean retirees should automatically avoid investments or become afraid of the market.

It means you should understand how much risk you are taking and whether that level of risk still fits your stage of life.

Before retirement, ask yourself:

How much of our income depends on market performance?

How would we react emotionally to a significant decline?

Would we be forced to sell investments to cover essential expenses?

Do we have other resources available?

There is no single correct answer.

The important thing is to understand the role risk plays in your plan before volatility arrives.

5. Inflation Does Not Stop When You Retire

Retirement may last 20 years, 30 years, or longer.

During that time, the cost of everyday life can change significantly.

A retirement income that feels comfortable during the first few years may not have the same purchasing power decades later.

That is why retirement planning should consider not only the income you need today but also how your expenses might evolve.

Some costs may rise.

Others may fall.

Healthcare expenses may become more significant.

Travel spending may be higher during the early years of retirement and lower later.

Your plan should recognize that retirement is not a single moment.

It is a long period of life with different stages.

6. Healthcare Deserves Its Own Retirement Conversation

People often spend decades thinking about how much they need to save for retirement while giving less attention to how healthcare may affect their financial plan.

Healthcare is not simply another line item.

Medical needs can change over time, and families should think about how premiums, out-of-pocket costs, prescriptions, dental care, and potential long-term care needs could affect their resources.

You do not have to predict every medical expense you will ever face.

You should, however, recognize that healthcare is likely to be part of your retirement financial picture.

Planning ahead is better than being surprised later.

7. Couples Should Plan for Two Retirements — and Potentially One

When couples plan for retirement, the conversation often assumes both spouses will be there together throughout retirement.

Unfortunately, one spouse will often outlive the other.

That possibility deserves thoughtful planning.

Ask questions such as:

What happens to our household income if one of us passes away?

How could Social Security income change?

Would any pension income change?

Would the surviving spouse understand the financial plan?

Would they know where accounts are located and who to contact?

Retirement planning is not just about creating a plan for two people.

It should also consider how financially prepared either spouse would be to continue alone.

These may not be the easiest conversations to have, but they are important ones.

8. Taxes Should Not Be an Afterthought

Your retirement account balance and the amount you can ultimately spend are not always the same thing.

Different types of retirement accounts may be taxed differently when money is withdrawn.

Social Security benefits may interact with other sources of income.

Required distributions from certain retirement accounts can eventually affect your taxable income.

That is why tax awareness should be part of retirement planning.

This does not mean anyone can predict what tax laws will look like decades into the future.

It means you should understand how your current accounts are structured and work with the appropriate financial and tax professionals when making decisions that may have tax consequences.

9. Do Not Let Fear Become Your Retirement Strategy

People approaching retirement are exposed to an endless stream of headlines.

The market is going up.

The market is going down.

Inflation is rising.

Interest rates are changing.

A recession may be coming.

A recession may not be coming.

It can be exhausting.

And when you are about to retire, every headline can suddenly feel personal.

My belief is that retirement decisions should begin with your financial situation — not the television.

Ask yourself:

Has something fundamentally changed in my plan?

Has my income need changed?

Has my risk tolerance changed?

Have my goals changed?

Does this event require action, or is it simply creating anxiety?

A retirement strategy should give you a framework for evaluating uncertainty instead of reacting emotionally every time something happens in the economy.

10. Retirement Should Give You More Freedom, Not More Fear

You spend decades preparing for retirement.

The goal should not be to reach retirement and then become afraid to enjoy it.

I have met people who have saved diligently their entire lives but struggle emotionally when it comes time to actually use the money they worked so hard to accumulate.

They may have enough resources.

But they do not feel confident.

That is where planning can make a meaningful difference.

When you understand your income, expenses, resources, risks, and goals, you may be better equipped to make decisions about how you want to live.

Retirement planning should help answer more than:

“Do I have enough?”

It should also help you think about:

“What can I confidently do with what I have?”

A Final Thought for Arizona Families Approaching Retirement

At Nation’s First Financial, we work with individuals and families who are in or nearing retirement and help them think through the many decisions involved in that transition. I lead the firm’s financial consulting team, and over the years I have seen firsthand that the families who feel most prepared are not necessarily the ones who know what will happen next.

They are often the ones who have taken the time to think through different possibilities. Nation’s First Financial has served client needs for more than 16 years and has developed offices across Arizona.

You cannot control the markets.

You cannot control inflation.

You cannot know exactly how long you will live.

And you cannot predict every expense you will face.

But you can become more informed.

You can understand your resources.

You can identify potential risks.

You can ask better questions.

And you can build a retirement strategy designed around the life you hope to live.

Retirement should not simply be the end of your working years.

It should be the beginning of a new chapter — and that chapter deserves a plan.

About Randy Rondberg

Randy Rondberg leads the financial consulting team at Nation’s First Financial and has spent 25 years in the financial services field. Before founding Nation’s First Financial, he worked with MetLife as a branch manager in its regional office. Through Nation’s First Financial, Randy focuses on helping individuals and families who are in or nearing retirement better understand the financial decisions ahead of them.

This content is provided fo

r educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered tax, legal, or investment advice. Individual circumstances vary, and you should consult the appropriate qualified professionals regarding your specific situation.