Course Outline

Session 1

1. Lifestyle Planning

Planning for retirement is so much more than just calculating facts and figures. This section touches on how retirement has changed and evolved throughout the years and continues to do so. Identifying expectations for life after work is an important item to address, including planned adventures, day-to-day activities, caring for loved ones, and exploring your unique vision of retirement.

2. Expenses In Retirement

A common concern for those approaching retirement is oftentimes: “How much do I need to retire?” While nobody can answer with absolute certainty, determining the needs and wants in retirement is a step in the right direction, while accounting for the unexpected. All retirees need a plan for preserving their purchasing power (inflation) in retirement.

3. Debt Management & Tax Planning

Differentiate between good debt and bad debt, learn how to use debt as a tool, and considerations for carrying debt into retirement. Simple, practical, and effective tax strategies are expanded upon in section 3. Keep more of what’s yours!

Excerpt from SRS Session 1 textbook

4. Income Planning

Traditional and Roth IRAs, Social Security Income strategies, maximizing your employer-sponsored retirement account(s), and additional income sources are included in this section. Are you confident in the amount you are saving, and where your savings are being held?

5. Distributions in Retirement

Being able to retire is a remarkable feat to be proud of, many sacrifices were made and a strong sense of discipline was required. Don’t place your hard work in contention with ineffective distributions from your retirement savings. A structured plan of action to fund goals post-retirement should be built around the individual while avoiding costly mistakes.

6. Investments

Section 6 explains much of the foundational knowledge required to be a successful investor. Whether you plan to be a DIY investor or entrust a fiduciary to manage your money, a basic understanding of where and how your savings are invested should not be discounted.

Excerpt from SRS Session 2 textbook

7. Risk Management & Asset Protection

Learn about the various types of insurance, how to determine which policies are best for you, and which are mostly commission-motivated products for insurance salespeople. A Medicare overview and the in’s and out’s of Long Term Care are expanded upon.

8. Legacy/Estate Planning

Estate planning is NOT reserved for the wealthy. Educate yourself on tried-and-tested estate planning strategies, potential estate/death taxes, and incapacity considerations to take into account.

Additional Resources and Tools

Fascinating articles and additional educational resources are great tools to help prepare any reader to plan for a life of financial independence.

Inflation and Purchasing Power
- Historical Rates of Inflation
- Inflation and Income Taxes
Retirement Expectations
- How Much Will You Need to Retire?
- Life Planning for Retirement
- When can you retire?

Personal Retirement Vehicles
- Traditional IRA’s
- Roth IRA’s
- Traditional IRA to Roth IRA Conversions
- Review: IRA vs. Roth IRA
Additional Sources of Income
Social Security
- Eligibility
- Strategy
- How Are Retirement Benefits Taxed?
- The Future of Social Security
Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans
- Qualified Retirement Plans
- Defined Benefit Plans
  - Pensions
- Defined Contribution Plans
  - 401(k), 403(b), SEP-IRA, SIMPLE, 457(b)

Property and Casualty Insurance
Disability Income Insurance
Health Insurance
Medicare Insurance Premiums
- Medicare Part B
- Medicare Trends
Long Term Care (LTC)
Introduction to Life Insurance
- Needs and Benefits
- Categories
- Comparison
- Survivorship Life

Estate Planning Objectives
- Planning for Incapacity
- Transfer Taxes
Estate Planning Basics
- Additional Planning Strategies
- Types of Property Interests.

Financial Terms and Definitions
Golden Years – Monte Carlo Explained
Investment Analytical Terms
Medicare Premium Analysis: Parts B and D
Retirement Income Plan Worksheet
Common Retirement Issues to Consider
Thor’s Guide to Successful Retirement
Retirement Phase Accumulation Chart
Market Curses: The five dirty words you can’t Say in personal finance
25 Reasons to Diversify
Perfect Positive Correlation, Perfect Negative Correlation, Imperfect Correlation
Investing and Emotions
Asset Class Returns vs The “Average Investor”
Attempting to pick the exact bottom could potentially be costly
Chasing Performance May Lower Your Returns
Consumer Items in 30 Years
Importance of Asset Allocation
The perils of market timing
The Wisdom of a Buy and Hold Investment Approach
US Capital Asset Historical Returns
What if you retired in the “lost decade?”
Prevent Identity Theft