Welcome to the Journey through Retirement Blog, the blog and newsroom for Compass Financial Group, a financial services firm focused on helping people navigate the financial, emotional and lifestyle challenges that come with retirement. Here, we get to do what we love most: provide you with the tools, resources and knowledge to live an amazing retirement!
My name is Richard Hill and I’m the founder and one of the lead retirement consultants with Compass Financial Group. I’ve been in the financial industry for almost 30 years and 10 years ago left a large Wall Street firm to go out on my own. We decided to build a company that focused on helping people navigate retirement because I had come to realize that most of the “retirement planning” that was being done was actually “accumulation planning. Retirement was the great unknown, filled with uncertainties around income, taxes, healthcare, longevity and more. In spite of this, most American workers, and the financial firms that served them, were more focused on how to get TO retirement than how to get THROUGH retirement. It was as if retirement was a destination, a stopping point, rather than the beginning of a new phase of life that required a new set of plans and a different way of thinking.
It had also become clear that the retirement landscape had changed dramatically in the past few generations. It’s unlikely to be the vision painted by the media of a brief period of earned recreation and relaxation. Instead, given today’s life expectancy, it’s more likely to be a full one-third of our adult life. Our parents and grandparents may have retired comfortably, and predictably, on Social security and pensions, but that is clearly no longer the case. And while our post work years might have involved moving to Florida and playing golf or bridge, today’s baby boomers have redefined this stage of life, choosing to start businesses, go back to school, take flying lessons or move to another country. As I often tell our clients – this ain’t your grandma’s retirement!
So, now that you have a little background, what can you look forward to in the Journey through Retirement Blog?
- Financial planning strategies, techniques and products that aim to help you make the most of your post work years.
- Recommendations for how to prepare for the transition from work to retirement, and how to know if you’re ready.
- Tips to help you make informed decisions about Social Security, Medicare, estate planning, retirement income and long-term care planning.
- Insight and recommendations on many of the things that make retirement fun and interesting such as traveling, charitable giving, caregiving, goal setting, great food and drink and more!
- Resources to help you stay physically fit, mentally alert and spiritually connected.
- Guest bloggers including members of our team, industry experts, thought leaders and clients that are eager to share their experience and knowledge.
I look forward to the opportunity to share my views and engage in a dialogue that should be beneficial for all of us. Most of these blog posts represents my opinions and the experience and knowledge I have gained from more than 25 years in the financial industry. Not everything I share will be applicable to all people however, so if you have questions about what might be best for you I encourage you to use the contact feature on our website to ask questions, share your thoughts and let us know what topics you would like to see covered in the future.
Retirement is a new and exciting journey, and many of the retirement roadmaps from generations past are no longer accurate. We look forward to acting as your guide on this voyage and sharing with you our experience, and the experiences of those that have come before you! If you enjoy our posts, follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out our website where you’ll find videos, white papers and information to help you enjoy your Journey through Retirement!