'When Will I Die?' The Taboo Question in Retirement Planning

By John E. Girouard

BETHESDA, Md., July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- It would be so much easier to plan
for retirement if people knew when they were going to die. We can't know, but
investment adviser and author John E. Girouard says that shouldn't stop people
from asking themselves: At what age do I THINK I'm going to die?
Girouard says he has been asking clients this question for years because,
"I've discovered that encouraging people to ponder the imponderable can
trigger life-changing conversations that help them make better financial
choices."
He notes that there is a taboo in American culture about posing a question
few people feel comfortable answering. Death is such an anxiety-producing
subject that even otherwise sophisticated people with large estates avoid
writing or updating their wills, often with disastrous results.
"I begin working with clients by asking them to write their full name and
the age at which they guess they will die. Then I ask them to write down the
five things they wish they had been known for, had accomplished, had achieved,
or been doing in the year before they died."
Girouard says this exercise is often sobering, provoking people into
converting secret fears into action so that the financial planning process can
be geared toward making sure those five important things happen before they
die.
"Your state of mind is the hidden element in planning your retirement
finances. If you have a lot of relatives and friends who died early, you may
have internalized that you will die early too and make poor financial choices
believing your time is short. But if you reach age 65 healthy and broke, you
may become so despondent you'll end up fulfilling your prophecy."
Girouard says those worried about living to be a hundred and running out
of money should have a plan that comes as close as possible to guaranteeing
they won't end up impoverished.
"People should be thinking less about how much money they think they'll
need to live on," Girouard says, "and focus instead on exploring how their
financial lives can help them achieve more of what they value with greater
certainty."
Contact: Mike Morgan (M.B.Morgan@capitalamg.com), VP and COO, Capital
Asset Management Group, (240) 482-4002
SOURCE Capital Asset Management Group

Mike Morgan, VP and COO of Capital Asset Management Group, +1-240-482-4002,
M.B.Morgan@capitalamg.com