Thank you for sharing this article, Uday. Very interesting to read. Apologies for top-posting.
Two reactions, one from an Indian context, and the second a more general one. First, from an Indian context, the bad news, of course, is that unless you worked for the government, there is not much structure to a retirement cash flow. You get a big (hopefully) sum of money at retirement and then you are on your own. But the good news is that with the lack of structure comes lack of limitations as well. Most people would turn to an annuity, typically from LIC, to fund their monthly needs. With LICs annuities, though, not many people are aware that there are about six or so different payout options one can choose from, ranging from flat as in the article, to growing at 3%, to flat with money back etc. In essence you have choice. We actually are able to create a much more tailored plan for our clients because one has the choice of doing whatever one wants with the typical retirement payouts of PF, gratuity, leave encashment and in some cases superannuation. One of those cases where living in India has its advantages. It also helps to put the building blocks for retirement cash flows in place a few years before one actually retires. Second, I loved the analogy to the box of chocolates. More generally, we adopt a strategy that includes spikes in its thinking. But instead of trying to use monthly cash flows to achieve all objectives, we would split it up as big ticket from assets, and routine expenses from cash flows. It definitely makes sense to created he upward slope, a structure for routine expenses that can increase over time to accommodate inflation because here it carries a meaner bite compared to the US. The upward slope is possible even in the US, by the way, because one typically arrives at retirement with more assets than what is in the 401K. Hope this helps. Warm regards, Shyam Sent from my iPhone > On 14-Sep-2016, at 02:34, Udhay Shankar N <[email protected]> wrote: > > [intentionally keeping the thread below untrimmed for context] > > Shyam (and others), would be interested in your thoughts on this approach. > > http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-get-more-pleasure-out-of-retirement-spending-1473645961 > > Udhay > > On Mon, Sep 22, 2014 at 4:42 PM, Shyam Sunder <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Please tread carefully. >> >> I have, through my job, had the unique vantage point of helping people as >> they think and plan for their retirement. The greatest trouble I have is >> with people who want to retire early, and who haven't thought things >> through. It is often hard for people who currently have "too much to do, >> too little time" to fully appreciate how heavily time sits on your >> shoulders when you have "too little to do, too much time." And finances are >> important but not the most important thing. Much more important is to >> figure out how you are going to fill your days. >> >> 1) Volunteering vs. charity - Organizations are happy to take your money, >> but usually have issues with volunteers, especially know-it-all volunteers >> who want to make a "significant impact" to the organizations they associate >> with. Both sides get frustrated real fast. >> >> 2) Spending time with family - Think about the amount of time you >> currently spend with your family, immediate and extended. Honestly, what do >> you think is the appetite among them for X to become 10X? or even 2X? You >> will never fully realize how grown up and independent your children and >> grandchildren are. >> >> 3) Longevity - If you were to live a 100 years, and remember, it is not >> really in your hands, for how many years will you be retired? Are you okay >> with that? >> >> 4) Health - an idle mind is a devil's workshop (read hypochondriac.) >> People who are mentally active tend to be significantly healthier that the >> rest. >> >> So if someone is not only willing to have you around, but also pay you for >> that privilege, walk away from that real slow. >> >> And sorry, but I should have started by introducing myself. Shyam Sunder, >> Palghat Iyer, grew up in Chennai, spent ten years sailing oil tankers, then >> ten years as a strategy consultant, and now ten years as a financial >> planner. Waited for some time now for emails about Silk Smitha before it >> dawned on me that perhaps was not the thrust of this group. And for those >> who don't know who Silk Smitha was, your life is a little poorer as a >> result. >> >> Warm regards >> >> Shyam >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: silklist [mailto:silklist-bounces+shyam.sunder=peakalpha.com@ >> lists.hserus.net] On Behalf Of Sandhya aka Sandy >> Sent: 22 September 2014 15:03 >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: [silk] To retire or not - that is the Q. >> >> Hello Folks >> >> At the brink of yet another huge restructure in my company, I'm beginning >> to tire of it. Just a wee bit. Quite a lot, actually. While I no longer >> look for logic in the actions of a big company, these restructures and >> their ensuing impact are really getting old. And perhaps, so am I. :) >> >> So I had a long hard look at my financials and by overhauling my world, >> retiring from corporate life is in the realm of possibility. Not retiring >> from productive life - there are a million, zillion things I'd like to do >> and I can probably consult as well. >> >> What do you think? Those who've been there, done that. Those who're >> considering it and haven't yet taken the plunge. Those with feet planted >> firmly on the ground. And any others in between. Thoughts, advice, comments? >> >> I may be a dreamer but I'm not the only one Sandhya >> >> >> ------------------------ >> Powered by BigRock.com > > > -- > > ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
