If you have, or shortly will have, an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) the process of deciding how your fund will deliver the cash flows you will need in retirement can be daunting.
Prior to retirement while building your pension fund you probably were accustomed to considering matters such as investment risk and reward. Once you retire however additional issues such as how and how much, you will spend from your ARF on an ongoing basis become vitally important.
Typical Problems That We Come Across
Instead of creating a financial plan, some ARF owners draw down funds from their ARF in an undisciplined manner and in this way expose exposing themselves to the danger that their fund may become prematurely depleted while they are in old age. Sometimes, having fallen into this trap, ARF owners indulge in yield-seeking behaviour in an attempt to augment their funds without taking into account the risks to capital that this behaviour creates.
How We Can Help
If you are in or are approaching retirement, proper financial planning becomes a necessity. At McAvoy & Associates we understand the dangers of running out of money in retirement. To help avoid this we work with our clients to put together a plan that will minimise this danger. The issues we consider in doing this include matters such as:
- Setting out in writing your attitude towards investment risk and reward.
- Considering the length of the period during which you and your spouse will require retirement income.
- Deciding on an appropriate mix between cash, bonds, equities and investment property.
- Documenting all your retirement assets irrespective of whether these are in your ARF or are held outside it.
- Deciding on a pattern of spending.
- Deciding on how to finance your spending plan.
McAvoy & Associates is a trading name of Accerta Limited which is authorised by Chartered Accountants Ireland to carry on investment business.
