It’s playoff season! So, on today’s episode, we’ll be talking about fumbling your retirement and how you can prevent doing so, especially as you enter the retirement red zone.

In football, the red zone is 20 yards before the endzone. In retirement, it’s typically the 5 to 10 years before retirement and 5 to 10 years after retirement. This is the time in your plan when you are most vulnerable to risk. If something bad happens, it can really mess up your retirement goals. That’s why you need to be properly prepared.

You don’t want to take on additional risk during this time. Being too aggressive can be dangerous, but you’ll still want to keep up with inflation. Avoid taking on large amounts of debt during this time. The closer we get to retirement, the less time we have to recover. You might be tempted to pull money out when the market takes a downturn, but this can really hamper your financial future.

At the end of the day, you have to have a plan. Knowing what you’ll need and where that money is going to come from will help you keep your confidence. You’ll know when to turn on certain income buckets, strategize social security, etc. Your retirement plan is your game plan and your advisor is your coach!

Listen to the entire episode or skip ahead using the timestamps below. 

1:39 – What is the financial red zone?

2:36 – Being cautious in the red zone

5:40 – Real consequences of inflation

8:32 – Top mistakes people make

10:10 – Coaching you through retirement

12:28 – Making retirement planning easier

14:37 – Having a clear picture

16:33 – Running the clock down for victory

A Quotable Moment:

“That’s one of the biggest dangers, people getting too conservative as they near retirement or in the first part of retirement…but you have to make sure your plan is going to keep up with that inflationary piece. ”

-Phil Putney