Your Retirement Isn't Set in Stone, But It Can Be a Work of Art

Have you ever talked to a friend, family member or colleague about retirement? Did you notice that their retirement (or plan for retirement) was not the same as yours?

We're not just talking about numbers. Retirement is different for everyone in a variety of ways: Location, timing, length, activities, finances, health, family, goals. The list goes on and on.

For this reason, it's helpful to use the "sketchbook" approach to retirement planning. You might not have heard of this before. It isn't part of a financial planning curriculum, nor is it something that shows up as a line item of your financial plan from your adviser or financial planner.

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In fact, it may be more valuable. It takes all the important information from your tax planners, advisers and other professionals and enables you to be the master of your own retirement.

It allows you to understand everything that others teach you along the way and still retain control of your life journey.

Essentially, this approach requires you to think about your financial plan not as a single how-to, but as an art project. This is your masterpiece — one that is more than just a point-in-time picture.

Consider it as a series of pencil sketches — shaded a little, erased, reworked and revised up to and through your retirement.

Seeing the bigger picture

But what about the numbers? What about the Excel document or the 4% rule? Shouldn't people be more focused on savings and investing than on their values and how they feel?

The sketchbook approach doesn't diminish the fundamental principles that you have come to know. It is still important to start saving as soon as possible, take advantage of the company match and understand how much you need to withdraw each year based on the income replacement ratio you seek.

Think of the sketchbook approach as an overlay to the numbers and spreadsheets.

After all, no single plan should be written in stone, nor should it be one-size-fits-all. Even the 4% rule doesn't apply to everyone. Just as you revisit a budget or rebalance a portfolio, relying on tax advisers, financial advisers, attorneys and others to guide you along the way, you must revisit your retirement sketch over time.

You will erase a little, soften some lines and bolden others as you act on new and changing information. Over time, your values may evolve as you have certain life experiences. Your family may also change, along with your health and the health of others around you.

When do you need to resketch your plan?

Here are a few examples of life events that require us to resketch our plans along the way. I imagine you have a few examples that jump off your canvas, too:

I got married when I was 28. It was the same year I acquired equity in a law firm. My future was bright, and the road ahead was promising.

I never imagined that, six years later, I would be divorced and working at a different job, but it did mean the financial plan in the folder on my computer desperately needed to be printed out and "resketched."

I volunteer for Make-A-Wish. I see a lot of families with children with life-threatening diseases. None of these families planned to have children with disabilities. In many cases, there is not only a financial burden on the family, but also a major lifestyle shift, as one of the parents may have to leave work to serve as a caretaker. Disabilities coupled with caretaking result in a need to resketch — likely several times along the way.

Have you ever heard of being in the sandwich generation — being in your 30s, 40s or 50s and simultaneously responsible for caring for aging parents and children? Often, we assume our parents have planned well enough or have long-term care insurance.

One of my friends is now paying and spending time off work to care for a parent who didn't save well enough, has no long-term care insurance and also needs caretaking, while taking care of kids at the same time.

Another friend was married for 30 years and, as retirement took place, so too did divorce. As the primary provider for the family, this friend is paying for his retirement and that of his former spouse — in two separate homes. Gray divorce wasn't part of his retirement plan.

Questions to ask as you work on your masterpiece

For these reasons, flexibility is your greatest asset in planning for retirement and navigating it once you're there. While a strong investment portfolio and tax-efficient strategy are excellent, the most valuable part of your portfolio is your ability to adapt up to and through your retirement years.

To embrace the sketchbook concept, you should set aside time each year to ask the following questions as you work on your retirement masterpiece:

• What still fits in my life?
• What feels forced?
• Where do I need to resketch?
• What is going well and what isn't?
• What brought me happiness?

Embrace the project and remember: You have an eraser. There are no wrong moves along the way.

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