Retirement planning involves more than reaching a specific savings balance. A comprehensive financial plan should account for the income you’ll need, the expenses you’ll face, the risks you may encounter, and the legacy you want to leave behind. According to a study, Americans believe they need an average of $1.26 million to retire comfortably.
Those figures highlight why financial planning for retirement should go beyond simply contributing to a 401(k) or IRA. Your retirement strategy may need to address investments, income, taxes, healthcare, insurance, estate planning, and family goals. Reviewing these areas before retirement can help you identify gaps and make informed adjustments while you still have time to act.
For individuals seeking financial planning in Glendale, CA, taking a comprehensive approach can provide a clearer picture of where you stand today and what may need to change before you retire.
Why Financial Planning Matters Before Retirement
Retirement changes how you earn, spend, save, and manage your money. Instead of relying primarily on a paycheck, you’ll likely draw income from several sources while managing expenses that can change throughout retirement.
A strong retirement strategy should answer questions such as:
- How much income will I need each month?
- Where will my retirement income come from?
- How long should my savings last?
- How will healthcare costs affect my budget?
- What taxes could apply to my retirement income?
- How will I protect my family and assets?
- What do I want to leave to the next generation?
These questions demonstrate why retirement financial planning should address your entire financial picture rather than focus on one account or investment.
Retirement Is Not Simply a Savings Goal
Having a substantial retirement balance can provide an important foundation, but the amount you have saved doesn’t tell the entire story. Two people with identical account balances could have very different retirement needs based on their housing costs, lifestyle, healthcare expenses, debt, expected longevity, and sources of guaranteed income.
Your financial plan for retirement should connect your savings and investments to your expected expenses and income needs. It should also account for the possibility that circumstances may change after you retire.
A personalized approach can help you determine how your assets may support your desired lifestyle and identify areas that deserve additional attention before retirement.
Start With Your Retirement Income Needs
Retirement income planning begins with estimating how much you’ll need to maintain your lifestyle after your paycheck stops. Your income sources could include Social Security, retirement accounts, investments, annuities, pensions, and other assets.
Legacy Partners Insurance’s financial planning services include analyzing retirement income needs and developing strategies around a client’s broader financial objectives.
The goal isn’t simply to determine a single number. It’s to understand how different income sources may work together and how your plan could respond to inflation, market fluctuations, changing expenses, and a longer-than-expected retirement.
1. Retirement Savings and Investments
Your retirement savings and investments form an important part of your overall financial strategy. Before retiring, take time to understand how much you’ve accumulated, where those assets are held, and how they fit into your expected retirement needs.
Assess Your Current Retirement Savings
Start by reviewing all of your retirement accounts and other savings, including:
- 401(k) and other employer-sponsored retirement plans
- Traditional and Roth IRAs
- Taxable investment accounts
- Personal savings
- Annuities and other retirement income sources
Your review should consider more than the current account balances. Contribution rates, expected growth, fees, withdrawal strategies, and the timing of retirement can all affect your long-term results.
Review Your Investment Strategy
Your investment strategy may need to evolve as retirement approaches. Someone with decades before retirement generally has more time to recover from market declines than someone who plans to begin withdrawing assets within a few years.
Review your portfolio based on your:
- Retirement timeline
- Risk tolerance
- Expected income needs
- Other financial resources
- Long-term goals
The objective isn’t necessarily to eliminate investment risk. Instead, your savings and investment planning should reflect the amount of risk you’re comfortable taking and the role each asset plays in your overall retirement strategy.
2. Retirement Income Planning
Accumulating retirement assets is one part of the process. Determining how those assets can support your lifestyle after you stop working is another.
Estimate Your Future Income Sources
Create an inventory of potential retirement income, including:
- Social Security benefits
- 401(k) and IRA distributions
- Pension income
- Investment income
- Annuities
- Other personal or business assets
Then compare those potential income sources with your projected expenses.
Plan for Sustainable Retirement Income
A thoughtful retirement income planning strategy should account for both your current needs and the possibility of living longer than expected. Northwestern Mutual’s 2025 study found that 51% of Americans believe they are somewhat or very likely to outlive their savings.
That concern makes sustainable income an important part of your financial planning for retirement. Your strategy should consider when to begin drawing from different accounts, how withdrawals may affect taxes, and how your income needs could change throughout retirement.
A comprehensive financial plan can help connect your retirement savings, investments, insurance, and other resources into a strategy built around your individual goals.
3. Budgeting and Cash Flow
Retirement can change your spending patterns significantly. Some expenses may decrease after you stop working, while others, particularly healthcare, travel, or family support, may increase. A detailed budgeting and cash flow review can help you estimate how much you’ll actually need each month and identify potential gaps before retirement.
Calculate Your Expected Retirement Expenses
Start by separating your expenses into essential and discretionary categories. Your retirement budget may include:
- Housing costs, including mortgage, rent, property taxes, and maintenance
- Utilities and household expenses
- Food and transportation
- Health insurance and medical costs
- Travel and entertainment
- Debt payments
- Support for children or other family members
- Charitable giving
It’s also useful to consider expenses that may change over time. Someone who spends more on travel during the first years of retirement may eventually spend less in that area while facing higher healthcare or long-term care costs later.
Account for Changing Expenses Over Time
A retirement budget shouldn’t assume that your expenses will remain constant for 20 or 30 years. Inflation can gradually reduce purchasing power, while unexpected medical needs or changes in living arrangements can create significant expenses.
Recent retirement planning guidance continues to emphasize building a realistic budget, projecting retirement income, and accounting for healthcare and long-term care needs well before retirement.
Reviewing your cash flow before retirement can help you determine how much income you’ll need, which expenses may require additional planning, and how your savings and investments could support your lifestyle.
4. Life and Disability Insurance
Insurance can remain an important part of your financial planning for retirement, particularly during the years leading up to retirement. Your need for coverage may change as your income, debts, family responsibilities, and assets change, making a periodic review worthwhile.
Review Your Life Insurance Needs Before Retirement
Life insurance can provide financial protection for your spouse, children, or other beneficiaries. It may help address outstanding debts, provide funds for loved ones, or support broader estate planning objectives.
Legacy Partners Insurance offers several life insurance options, including whole life, term life, and universal life products, and its financial planning services include analyzing life and disability income insurance needs.
Before retirement, consider:
- Does your family still depend on your income?
- Do you have outstanding mortgage or other debts?
- Would your spouse have enough income without you?
- Are you using permanent life insurance as part of your long-term financial strategy?
- Do your current beneficiaries and coverage amounts still reflect your wishes?
Your answers can help determine whether your existing coverage remains appropriate or needs to be adjusted.
Don’t Overlook Disability Insurance
Disability insurance is particularly important before retirement because your ability to earn an income may still be one of your most valuable financial assets. An illness or injury that prevents you from working could affect your ability to continue saving, paying debts, or meeting household expenses.
Disability insurance is an income-protection solution and is offered as part of its broader insurance and financial planning services.
Review your existing coverage and consider how a prolonged disability could affect your retirement timeline. A disruption during the final years of your career could reduce retirement contributions or force you to draw from savings earlier than planned.
5. Long-Term Care and Healthcare Planning
Healthcare deserves a prominent place in any retirement financial planning strategy. Regular medical expenses are one consideration, but the potential cost of extended care can have a much larger impact on retirement assets.
Prepare for Potential Long-Term Care Costs
Long-term care can involve assistance with everyday activities in settings such as a person’s home, an assisted living facility, or a nursing facility. Planning ahead gives you an opportunity to consider how those expenses could be funded instead of leaving the decision entirely to your family during a crisis.
Current retirement guidance continues to emphasize planning for long-term care before the need arises because families may otherwise have to make difficult decisions about assets, income, and care arrangements under pressure.
Long-term care insurance can be one option to consider as part of a broader retirement strategy. The right approach depends on your age, health, financial resources, and preferences.
Include Healthcare Costs in Your Retirement Budget
Healthcare expenses should be included in your projected retirement cash flow rather than treated as an afterthought. Consider:
- Health insurance premiums
- Out-of-pocket medical expenses
- Prescription costs
- Dental care
- Potential long-term care
- In-home care or assisted living
- Unexpected healthcare needs
Legacy Partners offers long-term care insurance as part of its retirement and financial planning solutions.
Planning for these possibilities alongside your retirement savings, insurance, and income strategy can help create a more complete financial plan for retirement. For individuals seeking retirement planning in Glendale, CA, reviewing these risks with a financial professional can help identify potential gaps before retirement begins.
6. Tax Planning and Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans
Taxes can have a significant effect on how much of your retirement savings you ultimately get to use. A strong financial plan should consider how different retirement accounts are taxed, when withdrawals may occur, and how your income strategy could affect your overall tax burden.
Understand How Retirement Income May Be Taxed
Your retirement income may come from several sources, and each can have different tax implications. Traditional retirement accounts, for example, generally involve tax-deferred contributions and taxation when funds are withdrawn, while Roth accounts use after-tax contributions and can offer tax-free qualified withdrawals.
Reviewing your expected retirement income sources before leaving the workforce can help you identify potential tax considerations and make more informed decisions about how and when to access your assets.
Review Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans
A tax-qualified retirement plan can provide an important foundation for long-term retirement preparation. Employer-sponsored plans can help employees save for retirement while providing certain tax benefits.
Legacy Partners Insurance also offers guidance around Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs, giving individuals additional options to consider as part of their broader retirement strategy.
Your retirement review should consider:
- Current contributions
- Account balances
- Traditional and Roth accounts
- Expected retirement income
- Tax considerations
- Required withdrawals and other account-specific rules
- How different accounts fit into your overall retirement strategy
7. Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer
Retirement planning shouldn’t stop at determining how you’ll fund your own lifestyle. Your financial plan should also address what happens to your assets after your lifetime and how you want your family or other beneficiaries to receive them.
Determine How You Want Your Assets Distributed
Estate planning can help you establish who should receive your assets and who should be responsible for carrying out your wishes. Your plan may involve wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, and decisions regarding executors or trustees.
Reviewing your estate plan before retirement can help ensure it reflects your current assets, family circumstances, and long-term wishes.
Coordinate Estate Planning With Life Insurance
Life insurance can also be considered as part of a broader estate planning strategy. Depending on your circumstances, life insurance may provide funds for outstanding obligations, support beneficiaries, or contribute to wealth transfer planning.
Legacy Partners notes that permanent life insurance can also build cash value, making it a potential component of long-term financial planning.
8. Education Planning and Family Goals
Retirement isn’t always your only major financial goal. Parents and grandparents may also want to help fund a child’s or grandchild’s education. The challenge is balancing those commitments with your own retirement planning needs.
Balance Education Costs With Retirement Needs
Education expenses can become substantial, particularly when they are funded from assets originally intended for retirement. Creating a separate education planning strategy can help you work toward both objectives without losing sight of your long-term financial security.
Avoid Sacrificing Retirement Security for Education Expenses
Your retirement timeline generally can’t be extended as easily as a student’s education timeline can be adjusted. That’s why education planning should be coordinated with your overall financial planning strategy in Glendale.
Consider:
- How much you want to contribute toward education
- Which family members you want to support
- How education savings will fit alongside retirement contributions
- Which savings vehicles may be appropriate
- How your education goals could affect your retirement income needs
9. Risk Management and Financial Plan Reviews
A retirement strategy can look strong on paper and still be vulnerable to unexpected events. Your financial plan should account for risks that could affect your savings, income, health, or family responsibilities.
Identify Risks That Could Disrupt Your Retirement
Consider potential challenges such as:
- Market fluctuations
- Inflation
- Unexpected healthcare expenses
- Long-term care needs
- Disability before retirement
- Changes in family circumstances
- Premature death of a spouse
- Unexpected financial support for family members
Reviewing your life insurance, disability insurance, and long-term care insurance alongside your retirement strategy can help identify potential gaps in protection. Legacy Partners Insurance offers all three as part of its broader Life & Health and financial planning services.
Review Your Plan as Your Circumstances Change
Your financial plan shouldn’t remain unchanged for years. Major events such as a career change, marriage, divorce, inheritance, business sale, change in income, or approaching retirement can all warrant a review.
Regular financial planning reviews allow you to revisit your savings, investments, insurance, estate plan, and retirement income strategy as your circumstances evolve.
For individuals looking for financial planning in Glendale, CA, a regular review can provide an opportunity to identify gaps and keep your retirement strategy aligned with your current goals.
Retirement Financial Planning Checklist
As retirement approaches, reviewing your entire financial picture can help you identify gaps before they become problems. Use this checklist as a starting point for reviewing your financial plan and determining which areas may need additional attention.
| Planning Area | Questions to Consider |
| Retirement Savings | Am I saving enough for the retirement lifestyle I want? |
| Retirement Income | Where will my retirement income come from? |
| Budgeting & Cash Flow | Will my expected income cover my ongoing expenses? |
| Life & Disability Insurance | Is my income and family adequately protected? |
| Long-Term Care | How would I pay for extended care if I needed it? |
| Tax Planning | How could taxes affect my retirement income? |
| Estate Planning | How do I want my assets transferred to my beneficiaries? |
| Education Planning | Can I support education goals without compromising retirement? |
| Risk Management | What unexpected events could affect my retirement strategy? |
Reviewing these areas together can provide a more complete picture than focusing on retirement savings alone.
When Should You Start Reviewing Your Financial Plan?
Your financial planning needs can change considerably as you approach retirement. A plan that worked several years ago may no longer reflect your current income, assets, family responsibilities, or retirement timeline.
Major Life Events That Should Trigger a Review
Consider reviewing your plan after:
- Approaching your planned retirement date
- Changing jobs or careers
- Getting married or divorced
- Receiving a significant inheritance
- Buying or selling a business
- Experiencing a major change in income
- Paying off or taking on significant debt
- Having children or grandchildren
- Experiencing a major change in your family’s financial needs
A review can also be valuable when your insurance coverage changes. Life insurance, disability insurance, and long-term care insurance should continue to reflect your current financial circumstances rather than the circumstances you had when the policies were first purchased.
Why Regular Reviews Matter
Retirement planning is an ongoing process. Your investment strategy, retirement income needs, insurance coverage, estate plan, and family goals can all change over time.
Regular reviews give you an opportunity to evaluate your progress and make adjustments before retirement. They can also help coordinate individual pieces of your financial strategy so that your retirement income, asset protection, tax considerations, and legacy goals work together.
Prepare for Retirement With Personalized Financial Planning
Retirement can represent one of the biggest financial transitions of your life. Having a plan for your savings is important, but preparing for retirement income needs, healthcare expenses, taxes, insurance, estate planning, and family goals can provide a more comprehensive approach.
At Legacy Partners Insurance, financial planning is built around understanding your current financial situation, identifying your objectives, and developing strategies around your individual needs.
Our Financial Planning Services Include:
- Business Exit Planning
- Financial Planning
- Estate Planning
- Education Planning
- Tax Qualified Retirement Plan
- Disability Insurance
- Long Term Care Insurance
If you’re looking for financial planning in Glendale, CA, a personalized review can help you understand where you stand today and what steps may strengthen your retirement strategy.
Contact Legacy Partners Insurance to discuss your financial goals and build a personalized plan for the years ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What should a financial plan include before retirement?
A comprehensive financial plan for retirement should consider retirement savings, investments, income needs, budgeting and cash flow, insurance, healthcare and long-term care, taxes, estate planning, education goals, and potential financial risks.
2. How much should I save before retirement?
The amount you need depends on factors such as your expected retirement age, lifestyle, expenses, income sources, savings, investments, and anticipated healthcare costs. A personalized retirement financial planning review can help you evaluate your specific needs.
3. What is retirement income planning?
Retirement income planning focuses on determining how you’ll generate and manage income after leaving the workforce. It can involve Social Security, retirement accounts, investments, annuities, and other potential income sources.
4. When should I start financial planning for retirement?
It’s generally beneficial to start as early as possible and continue reviewing your plan throughout your career. A more detailed review becomes especially important as retirement approaches or after major financial or family changes.
5. Should life insurance be part of a retirement financial plan?
Life insurance can be part of a broader retirement and estate planning strategy, depending on your family’s needs, assets, debts, income, and legacy objectives.
6. Why should I include long-term care in my retirement plan?
Long-term care can create significant expenses that may affect your retirement assets. Including long-term care insurance in your planning discussions can help you evaluate potential ways to prepare for those costs.
7. How do taxes affect retirement planning?
Taxes can affect how much of your retirement income you ultimately have available for living expenses. Reviewing your retirement accounts, income sources, and potential withdrawal strategies can help you incorporate tax considerations into your overall plan.
8. How does estate planning fit into financial planning?
Estate planning addresses how your assets and financial responsibilities should be handled during your lifetime and after your death. Coordinating estate planning with retirement and insurance strategies can help ensure your financial decisions support both your current needs and legacy goals.
9. How often should I review my financial plan?
There isn’t a single schedule that applies to everyone, but regular reviews can help keep your plan aligned with changing circumstances. Major events such as retirement, marriage, divorce, inheritance, a business sale, or significant changes in income can also warrant a review.
10. Where can I find financial planning services in Glendale, CA?
Legacy Partners Insurance provides financial planning in Glendale, CA, along with retirement planning, insurance, estate planning, education planning, and other financial services. A personalized consultation can help you evaluate your current strategy and identify areas that may need attention.