Desire to Retire: Are You Really Ready?

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
Here's what's coming up on this edition of The Retirement Huddle with Mark Howard and your host Ron Stutz.

**Mark Howard** (0:08)
So we don't want anybody to lose hope. We're going to put together a no-so strategy for you, not a hope-so strategy. You're going to know exactly when you can retire, what the numbers look like. You're going to know you're not going to run out of money. It's a wonderful thing.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:23)
It's time for The Retirement Huddle with your local financial coach, Mark Howard. If retirement is a game, you're in it to win it. The huddle is where your financial battle plans are drawn, and Mark Howard is here to help with the X's and O's. So, let's kick it off and break the huddle. The Retirement Huddle starts now.

**Ron Stutz** (0:50)
Let's get to the next topic of conversation here today, coach. A desire to retire. My goodness, it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
Different people have different levels of desire when it comes to finding their retirement date. Let's explore these different levels of desire as indicated by the statements that people might make to you and discuss how you'd help somebody on that particular level. Okay, somebody who says, Mark, I just don't see myself ever retiring. I love what I do.
What is your response to that person in the middle of that conversation?

**Mark Howard** (1:28)
Well, we don't hear this a lot, Ron. Every once in a while, maybe one out of every 15 or 20 people say this.
And I think that's fantastic. And what's interesting is I fall into this category myself. I don't see myself ever retiring. I love what I do. I love the impact we have on lives. I love coming in the office every day. I love the team we have. Love our clients.
But do I have a plan in case I can't do this anymore, if I'm physically unable to work? You bet your sweet Bippy I do. So even the folks that want to work forever, they need a plan for what happens in case they become physically unable to work or their boss decides that it's time for them to retire, or in case they suddenly change their mind about working. And sometimes we'll see, actually more often than you might think, I think the number of 60% of people retire, not because they wanted to, but because they had to. And what that means is that physically unable, or they got laid off, or a family member got sick and they had to step back from work to care for them, or something like that. So there's a lot of things outside of our control that we need to be prepared for with a plan. And that's whether you want to work till you're 90, like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, and so many people that we see these days that work well into their 80s, and still have the mental capability to do that, the physical capability, you still have to be prepared in case you can't work. And that's what we will still talk about.

**Ron Stutz** (3:07)
Coach, you were talking about all those things that you love about what you do and how you don't want to stop doing it, but the one thing that you did not mention is, you didn't say anything about loving to do this radio show, and I hope...

**Mark Howard** (3:19)
I didn't. I would be remiss if I didn't put this radio show in that category, because absolutely, it's the highlight of my week, Ron. You know that every week, getting on the air with you.

**Ron Stutz** (3:31)
My feelings are hurt, man.

**Mark Howard** (3:35)
You got something coming in the mail. I'll make it up to you.

**Ron Stutz** (3:37)
Okay. Thank you. Well, here's another thing that some people may say to you when they come in and have a conversation with you. I guess I could retire, but they pay me pretty well and I don't hate it, so I might as well keep working.
Is that a reasonable response to folks when you ask them about retirement? And what do you say to them?

**Mark Howard** (3:59)
Yeah, yes, sometimes it is. Very often people in this boat, I think that they feel they might as well just keep working because it seems easier than doing the work to get an income plan in place, to take the time to come and visit with us and let us put a plan together for them. I will tell you this, once they do come in and we finally put a plan together for them, a lot of times their perspective changes and they become more excited about retirement because they know they can. And there's a real power to working because you want to and not because you have to.