Name Your Plan – Select Both Retirement Income & Legacy Target
You know how much income you need and what kind of legacy you want to leave, but what you don’t know is if you might be able to hit those targets. Here’s one way to find out.
Everyone has retirement goals, but the big question is, are they attainable?
Take the 70-year-old woman I wrote about recently. She has $2 million in retirement savings, and she’d like to use those savings to generate $70,000 in annual income increasing by 2% a year early in retirement, but still be able to leave her heirs a $2 million legacy at age 90. Can she do it?
That’s a question many financial advisers might have trouble answering, but after seeing the results of many, many plans over the years, I believe I’ve created a method that can answer her question using Income Allocation planning. While her legacy results will depend on market returns, this planning method incorporates annuity payments into the mix and lowers costs and taxes to deliver reliable income.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Happily, with technology and experience, that analysis is now available to you, too. After considering your personal and plan data, my team will enable you to Name Your Plan by using our tools at Go2Income to solve for the plan design and market return that achieves both your income and legacy objectives.
Our Retiree Names Her Plan
How does it work? To begin, you provide plan data, including your age and gender, marital status, your retirement savings, percentage of savings in your rollover IRA, desired inflation protection and your risk tolerance as measured by the percentage to be invested in stocks. Then we sift through (electronically, that is) the millions of possibilities.
The key driver of achieving both of your objectives is the long-term return in the stock market.
Now we zero in on the plan that will get you what you want. And you may be surprised that the stock market returns affect your results less than you might expect. When they do affect the plan, the impact will be on the legacy you leave, instead of your annual income.
How We Enable You to Name Your Plan
Here is how our retiree refined her objectives to set her twin goals for income and legacy:
- She revealed that 50% of her $2 million in savings is in a rollover IRA, and the balance is in personal after-tax savings.
- With her annual income goal of $70,000 growing by 2% per year, together with a Social Security check that also grows, she believes she will be able to live comfortably.
- Regarding her $2 million legacy goal, she understands that market results and plan design may prevent her from achieving that goal in every year and so is setting that legacy target at her approximate life expectancy of 90.
Recent studies would suggest that her twin goals are just not possible in today’s market. However, after using the Go2Income Income Allocation tool to create her income plan, she can now use the Legacy Planner below to estimate what stock market return it would take to deliver both her income and legacy targets.
Keep in mind that because her personal situation and plan objectives are unique to her, the Legacy Planner is personalized and developed results just for our retiree. (Sharing a “one-size-fits-all” planning tool just can’t get the best results for you.)
ESMR is based on a sampling of plan. A counselor can create your plan.
Balance Your Needs
The Legacy Planner shows that it would take a long-term stock market return of between 6% and 7% to meet her legacy objective — and maintain her income goal. If returns fall short by the time of her passing, remember that her kids/grandkids will have their lifetimes for markets to recover.
In other words, my legacy-income planning method matched the targets of a “live off interest and leave the principal” plan from yesteryear — one that no longer works, given today’s low interest and dividend rates — without putting her retirement at risk.
You can do the same. Visit Go2Income for more information on how Income Allocation can help you reach your income and legacy goals, or contact me to discuss your situation.
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

Jerry Golden is the founder and CEO of Golden Retirement Advisors Inc. He specializes in helping consumers create retirement plans that provide income that cannot be outlived. Find out more at Go2income.com, where consumers can explore all types of income annuity options, anonymously and at no cost.
-
How Prepaid Verizon Phone Service Works and When It's a Smart ChoiceExplore the differences between Verizon Prepaid and Verizon Postpaid plans—costs, perks, flexibility, and when going prepaid makes sense.
-
Try This One-Minute Test to Uncover Hidden Health RisksFinding out this little-known fact about your body could reveal your risk of heart disease and more. It's a simple, free check for healthy aging.
-
Social Security Wisdom From a Financial Adviser Receiving Benefits HimselfYou don't know what you don't know, and with Social Security, that can be a costly problem for retirees — one that can last a lifetime.
-
Take It From a Tax Expert: The True Measure of Your Retirement Readiness Isn't the Size of Your Nest EggA sizable nest egg is a good start, but your plan should include two to five years of basic expenses in conservative, liquid accounts as a buffer against market volatility, inflation and taxes.
-
New Opportunity Zone Rules Triple Tax Benefits for Rural Investments: Here's Your 2027 StrategyNew IRS guidance just reshaped the opportunity zone landscape for 2027. Here's what high-net-worth investors need to know about the enhanced rural benefits.
-
The OBBB Ushers in a New Era of Energy Investing: What You Need to Know About Tax Breaks and MoreThe new tax law has changed the energy investing landscape with expanded incentives and permanent tax benefits for oil and gas production.
-
Ten Ways Family Offices Can Build Resilience in a Volatile WorldFamily offices are shifting their global investment priorities and goals in the face of uncertainty, volatile markets and the influence of younger generations.
-
Should Your Brokerage Firm Be Your Bookie? A Financial Professional Weighs InSome brokerage firms are promoting 'event contracts,' which are essentially yes-or-no wagers, blurring the lines between investing and gambling.
-
Supermarkets Have Become a Pickpockets' Paradise: How to Avoid Falling VictimSome stores regularly rearrange inventory with the aim of increasing purchases, and they're creating opportunities for thieves to steal from customers.
-
I'm a Wealth Adviser: These Are the Pros and Cons of Alternative Investments in Workplace Retirement AccountsWhile alternatives offer diversification and higher potential returns, including them in your workplace retirement plan would require careful consideration.