Cory Grandel works as a Senior Wealth Advisor with over 26 years of industry experience. In the following article, Cory Grandel provides helpful advice on retirement planning, getting the most out of your money, and managing financial risks is the key to a successful retirement.

As we journey through life, there comes a time when we look ahead to our golden years, envisioning a future filled with joy, fulfillment, and financial security. Retirement planning, coupled with effective wealth management, becomes the cornerstone of realizing those dreams and living a successful, worry-free retirement.

According to financial experts, a change in perspective can bring about a realization of risks associated with that course of action. For example, the stock market, which is a primary way to build wealth for personal support during retirement, is constantly in flux. Additional risks include the potential death of a spouse or monetary inflation.

In this article, Cory Grandel explores the strategies and principles that empower individuals to grow and manage their wealth, ensuring a fulfilling and prosperous retirement journey. From understanding the importance of navigating investment options, inflation, and death of a spouse, understanding and managing these key components can pave the way to a retirement that exceeds expectations.

Cory Grandel on How Risk Definition Has Changed

During the years that a person is accumulating wealth, typically through employment or investments, the things they would consider a risk to the benefits of their wealth and portfolio are a guiding principle. These risks are often considered to be aggressive, moderate, or conservative.

For example, a person who is working, is often focused on finding funds that will perform well. However, Cory Grandel says that when a person shifts out of the stage of life in which they are building savings, and begin considering retirement, they prioritize consistency in performance.

No longer are they concerned about building momentum; instead, they know what is needed in a portfolio is simply sustainable income for the duration of their life.

This tends to change everything. A potential retiree can even be convinced that waiting for a potential return is too big of a risk, and instead reach for steady income options.

The Risks in Retirement

Cory Grandel examines a few of the risks of retirement, now that the shift in mindset for retirees and how they should manage their portfolios has occurred.

Volatile Stock Markets

As previously mentioned, an investor who is growing their wealth and has a career often build their portfolio with an understanding that the stock market can be volatile, especially in short periods of time. However, these working people still tend to invest, believing that the stock market will have growth potential for longer periods of time.

That being said, risks are redefined for a retiree. Cory Grandel explains that though the facts of the volatility of the stock market have not changed, the retiree’s situation has, and therefore the risks can be greater. Investment values can decline, and with them, assets can be depleted at a greater speed.

Therefore, if a retiree is to continue to invest their money, they must do so with greater caution and strategies that reflect this new risk.

Spousal Death

Cory Grandel notes that if a retired person’s spouse passes away, new financial risks can be added to the already-stressful amount of grief present. For example, the benefits of a retirement pension can be, in many cases, reduced by the loss of a spouse.

This has a trickle-down effect on one’s monthly bills and other items on a budget that a retired person may have been balancing the cost of between themselves and their dearly departed spouse. This is to say nothing of the cost of funeral arrangements!

Therefore, a retirement risk includes spousal death, and requires a strategy, such as life insurance, to combat.

Increase of Cost

Cory Grandel says that there is an undoubted correlation between retirement and an increase in age. Unfortunately, that correlation leads to another: increased medical bills come with increased age. This can be upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Medicare, for example, does not provide the same healthcare benefits for all ages, and costs that were once lower or nonexistent thanks to coverage can become new items on the budget, depleting assets. Some of these commonly include dental care, long-term healthcare, and even hearing aids and appliances.

Inflation

Cory Grandel explains that there is no getting around the risk of inflation. When the cost of living and other benefits from one’s working days are removed due to a retirement decision, inflation becomes that much more of a problem. One’s standard of living can erode during retirement, especially if one lives on a fixed income.

Again, while one notable strategy to combat this is investment in the stock market, this cannot completely eliminate the risk because of its volatility.

In Conclusion

Retirement risks are apparent when both the mindset and the financial benefits of a person change as they retire. Some of these can include an increase in costs that used to be covered by Medicare, inflation and the volatility of stock markets, and the increased likelihood of the removal of other helpful factors, such as the death of a spouse.

Because of this, as risks appear in the changed mindset of a retired person, so should strategies to minimize those risks. With the right strategic financial moves, a retired person can maintain their standard of living even with a change in risks.