Have you ever taken advantage of a retirement planning service a financial adviser offers? My adviser wants to sit down with me, review all of my finances, and assess whether I am ready for retirement and what steps I need to take, if any, to ensure that there is less risk and a higher probability that we will be comfortable in retirement. His offer certainly intrigues me, and I, like most people, would like to know the answer to this question: Am I ready for retirement?

At the same time, I am reluctant to share all of this personal information with someone I trust but who is not family. I do not even share this kind of information with my family other than in broad terms. We discuss details with my spouse and when I can get her to listen. We do not share these details with our kids. It is just too personal, and I am not sure I want someone trying to sell me more and more products to know all my financial details.

Retirement Planning Services – Too Personal

Having mentioned all of this, we do have a detailed spreadsheet, which I have discussed with my wife. It plots all of our investments, the income they will generate, and the growth they should average over the next ten years. It also takes into account all of our income from pensions and investments from our savings.

We are focusing on living off of our income and not touching our principal, which is a pretty good strategy. We wonder when we should begin using our principal and enjoying it. As long as we are comfortable, I would prefer to wait and not touch our principal just yet.

Develop Your Own Strategic Investment Plan

Speaking of strategy, I have developed my own investment strategy. I reviewed it with my investment adviser to get his thoughts and guidance. We kept it to one-half page to keep it manageable. I keep it at the strategic level rather than discussing specific stocks unless there is some action we want to take on this stock.

We discuss this strategy twice a year and update it accordingly to ensure it is current and reflects current conditions. Implementing this strategy is up to me with the help of my adviser. I do not feel that I need to go beyond that in terms of sharing financial information.

We wonder if other readers have this same approach to investments and retirement planning services. A review is a good thing; however, we do not feel it is appropriate to share everything with your adviser. This is personal, and we wonder how other people feel about this approach. If nothing else, ensure you have an investment strategy and plan. If you are not the type to do your plan, having someone else do it for you with all your input might be a good thing.

Let us know what you think about retirement planning services. For more about retirement costs and planning, click here.