One article that I read shared some common (and costly) investment mistakes that unwary couples make when it comes to their retirement planning.
While I have a knee-jerk negative reaction to lists of “5 mistakes,” “7 challenges,” or “9 flaws,” every once in a while they include some points that bear repeating.
In this story, one of the key mistakes for planning a couple’s retirement is to not plan for the couple. Oftentimes, the emphasis is only put on planning for the breadwinner.
It’s likely that the surviving spouse will live 5 to 7 years beyond the passing of the first spouse, on average. Income and care must be available for that period.
On PlanAdvisor, there was an article on how “Small Changes to the Defined Contribution Framework Could Pay Dividends.”
The article recommends three primary changes: encouraging contributions, maintaining smart asset allocation while building savings, and delivering efficient distribution strategies.
The last is one we’ve talked about on our blog in the past. We strongly support the smart addition of income annuities to the investment mix for any retirement plan.
We also believe that making this a default option for defined contribution plans would go a long way to creating better retirement income streams for future retirees.
The bottom line is: While choice is great when it comes to the distribution of one’s retirement income, have participants elect their choices out of options that the experts design with future income in mind.