Welcome to Choose your own Adventure, a column that I’ll be writing for Hill Happenings to share my take on the retirement and estate planning process by helping you to think outside of your balance sheets. Last year I became a Certified Specialist in Planned Giving (CSPG) and I am eager to share insight I’ve learned relative to financial planning, tax planning, estate planning, deferred gifts, gifts of assets, life income gifts, and elder care. Two trends that stand out to me are:  

  • Financing retirement is not what it used to be. At the end of the 19th century the U.S. government developed Social Security to support adults who had aged out of the workforce. In the middle of the 20th century, employers began to offer a similarly structured (and financed) “defined benefit” plan (pensions). Both programs provided a fixed payment for the rest of the life. As life expectancies increased, the financial structure of both programs were tested and in some cases failed. In the late 20th century, employers began to offer “defined contribution” plans. The employer states the amount it will contribute to a pre-tax retirement account and then the employee can save above and beyond that amount.   

    “In the brave new world of retirement financing, you will very likely have to decide how much to save, how to invest the proceeds and what to do with the resulting money when you retire.”   
    -    William Sharpe, Professor Emeritus of Finance, Stanford University     
     
  • The onus is on us and we are not prepared for this. According to an article in The Atlantic only 30 percent of Americans have a basic understanding of financial matters. Similarly, a survey conducted by Caring.com shows only 33 percent of Americans have a will or trust that will instruct how assets will be distributed at death. It goes on to list the primary reasons people give for not doing it: they haven’t gotten around to it, don’t think they need one, or think the process is too expensive.

I set out to write a guide that empowers the reader to explore retirement options and estate planning decisions by thinking about what key areas of life people care about most, focused on how you want to live, the people in your life, your legacy, a business, and living within your means (whatever that means for you). The result is “Choose Your Own Adventure: A Financial and Estate Planning Guide”.

We spend our lives accumulating wealth, property, and other items but don’t always consider what to do with them. Instead of thinking of financial and estate planning as burdensome, stressful, or something to put off, what if we approached the process like planning an adventure? Adventure planning should include some structure but allow for flexibility. It should leave you feeling a little uncomfortable but empowered. Financial and estate planning can make you feel the same way.

This year I will be sharing lessons from the program and the guide with the Westminster community through this regular column. Several alumni were interviewed for this guide and I’m thankful to the people who shared their experiences with me.

If you are interested in hearing more about this topic, join me and six dynamic alumni panelists for the fourth annual “Financial Planning at Every Stage” virtual event on October 17, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. Register here.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Keyo, CSPG 
Director of Legacy and Leadership Giving 
860-408-3039

P.S. Request a copy of the guide by emailing me at jkeyo@westminster-school.org.