Sometimes the simplest advice is the best advice — it just needs to be communicated clearly and internalized fully by participants, not just go in one ear and out the other. In a two-part series on Forbes.com, Buckingham Asset Management’s Tim Maurer provides a perfect example of this.
Maurer offers what he calls the two “silver bullets” that Boomers can use to overcome the impact of the last 14 years’ worth of economic uncertainty: “move” and “work”:
- Move: The impact of relocating upon retirement is greater than most people think, and can be the difference between struggling to make ends meet in retirement and being comfortable. Maurer provides an example of how big the differences in home prices and cost of living can be: Alexandria, Va., boasts a median home price of $444,200 and a cost of living 55.5% higher than the U.S. average. Meanwhile, Knoxville, Tenn. has a median home price of $109,200 and a cost of living that’s 19.3% lower than the national average.
- Work: No, this is not “85 is the new 65.” While noting how important a job in retirement can be in making ends meet, Maurer gets the perspective just right: “In fact, the only way this second silver bullet will work is if you’re able to find, or create, a vocation that gives you as much or more joy than being fully retired,” he writes. “The purpose of retirement isn’t necessarily to not work. It’s to work because you want to, not because you have to.”
As you might expect, Maurer directs his “silver bullet” advice primarily at pre-retirees. But in a separate piece, he adapts it for younger generations — the Gen X, Gen Y and Millennials in the workforce.
