If you are considering life after Lockheed,
we’ll help as we have many of your colleagues
Case Study
“Can we retire now?”
Initial Situation
- Age: Brad, 59 | Brenda, 60
- Feeling: Ready for the next phase
- Goals:
- Brad retire in one year
- Brenda retire in five years
- Income: $175,000
- Investments: ~$800,000
- Other Considerations: Pension, part-time work in retirement, retirement income sources
When we met with Brad and Brenda, it was clear Brad was ready to retire. He’d spent the last 30 years at Lockheed Martin and was soon eligible to elect to take his pension. Brenda still loved her work and had energy so wanted to phase into a period of part-time work in a few years.
The couple figured that with Brad’s Lockheed pension and Brenda’s part-time work that they could make ends meet in early retirement. However, they were very worried about retirement income once Brenda retired fully.
Situation Now
- Status:
- Brad: Happily retired
- Brenda: Enjoying the pace of part-time work
- Feeling: Rested and content
- New questions:
- Where should we live when Brenda fully retires?
- Should we invest our HSA?
Today Brad and Brenda are shocked that their lives line up with what we’d envisioned four years ago. Brad is retired and collecting his pension. Brenda is enjoying part-time work and thinks she may work a few more years as she likes staying busy.
The couple’s retirement balance has increased from $800,000 when we started working with them to over $1 million. They never thought they’d achieve that which was special to them. They still have a small mortgage they’d like to payoff before Brenda fully retires. Over the last four years they’ve maxed out their HSA so have another $30,000 they’ve been building up to pay for healthcare costs in retirement.
How we helped Brad & Brenda
Brad and Brenda looked like so many Lockheed Martin couples we’ve helped over the years. Our Cypress Wayfinder process allowed us to map out their retirement, including pension income, part-time work, and eventual Social Security income. We considered the cost of Medicare and out-of-pocket costs. We stress tested their retirement showing them the impact of several alternative scenarios from their base case:
- Severe stock market downturn in the next few years
- Higher than expected spending post-retirement
- Brenda’s part-time work ending sooner.
We showed them that in all cases they’d still make it through retirement comfortably which allowed them to get more comfortable with the idea of retiring.
The client stories are based upon the specific client circumstances, each of which had a particular set of goals and objectives. The services described in these stories may differ from services provided to other clients, and the results achieved may not be similar, as every client’s goals and objectives are unique.
