PPB January 2018

A t 62, I’m often reminded that I need to plan for my golden years. As I consider my options, I think about my grandfather, Oscar Meyer (no relation to the hot dog guy). Late in life he was deeply concerned that he might someday have to draw on a welfare program to sustain him. In his mind, that would be disgraceful. He was a hard-working farmer who had outlived the assets he had accumulated over the years and he didn’t have a retirement plan. My father is now 91 and living in a skilled-nursing facility. He does not have a retirement plan either and has outlived his resources. He now relies on Medicaid to pay for his care. I have learned that regardless of how well we might plan, circumstances will ultimately dictate how we live out our final days. That said, I am a CPA and feel a responsibility to have a plan for my wife and family to provide for as smooth a retirement as possible. Many promotional professionals, especially those who own businesses, likely feel the same obligation. Pew Research says that 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 every day, a trend that will continue for the next 15 years. Our industry is well represented in those statistics. A 2015 PPAI survey estimates that nearly nine percent of supplier personnel and 17 percent of distributor personnel are 65 years of age or older, and 54 percent of supplier personnel and 69 percent of distributor personnel are 50 or older. These numbers are certainly eye-opening. Since it’s not wise for anyone, especially business owners, to leave their future to chance, it’s a good idea to develop a road map for retirement. I won’t call it a plan because formal plans can be dry and difficult to draft. I suggest “road map” because my wise accounting professor once said that to get where we want to go, we must first determine where we are. Decide your goals for retirement. Many Baby Boomers today continue to work past the full retirement age of 66. Others want to withdraw from business entirely to spend more time with family and friends or do some volunteer work to give back to the community. Perhaps traveling is their passion. The Develop a plan now to know what your goals are and what will get you there. by Jeffry Meyer A Road Map To Retirement 78 | JANUARY 2018 | THINK