Allan & Marion Siemens
The People
- Allan, age 62 and Marion, age 61
- Married
- 1 daughter
The Situation
Allan & Marion called us to review their retirement options. Allan had been a member of a pension plan all his life and had accumulated almost $500,000, but was overwhelmed with the responsibility of making his own investment choices. Marion was a government employee with a defined benefit pension plan. They had accumulated an additional $150,000 in RRSPs and $200,000 in cash savings. The stock market turmoil of 2008 had left them feeling significantly unsettled and Allan wasn’t sure he wanted to go into retirement making his own investment decisions. They both felt it was time to seek professional retirement planning help.
Their main Questions were:
- Do we have enough money to retire?
- What is an appropriate risk level for a retired portfolio?
- Who will look after things when we travel?
- What estate planning issues should we address as we enter this next phase of life?
What we did for Allan and Marion:
- We developed a retirement plan to answer the question, “do we have enough”? We confirmed, much to their relief, that they were in great financial shape.
- We did some risk profiling to determine the appropriate portfolio for their comfort level. We then adjusted their investments to match the new profile.
- We confirmed the income stream the investments would pay out when retirement commenced.
- We reviewed their current wills together with our estate planning lawyers and wrote a new estate plan for them. We then worked alongside their lawyers to draw up a new will. These wills included a trust for their daughter, which would significantly reduce the taxes she would need to pay.
- Finally, we meet regularly to review and update any changes in their needs.
Allan and Marion now have the peace of mind to proceed with setting their retirement date. They’re now positioned to enjoy a well-deserved stress free retirement!
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