When we sit down with families across Metro Atlanta, one conversation happens more than any other. Someone in their 50s or 60s comes through our door, often feeling defeated, and says something like, “I wish I had a pension. I just have this 401k.” What they don’t realize is that they’re holding the key to their own pension—they just haven’t been shown how to use it yet.
The Calculator That Changed Everything
Recently, we couldn’t sleep. Not because of stress, but because we were determined to solve a problem. For years, we’ve been hosting retirement education workshops across the Atlanta metro area, and we’ve consistently faced the same challenge: how do we actually show people the importance of guaranteed income streams, not just tell them?
“I can’t just tell you, hey, you’ve got to be really careful about risk or you need an income plan,” we often think. “Everybody hears that and they think, yeah, I know. But showing you what it actually means and showing you why it matters is much more difficult.”
So that night, armed with Excel and determination, we built something remarkable. What emerged wasn’t just another financial calculator—it was a tool that would reveal a stunning truth about retirement planning that most people never see.
The Tale of Two Retirements
Here’s what we discovered. We ran two scenarios using a 62-year-old with $2 million who needs $100,000 per year in retirement income.
Scenario One: The Traditional Approach
In this scenario, the entire $2 million goes into the stock market. We use a mix of stocks and bonds to control risk, aiming for an average to below-average rate of return to keep things “safe.” The retiree withdraws $100,000 annually, indexed for inflation. This is what most money managers would recommend. It’s the classic approach that’s been white-papered to death.
Scenario Two: The Income-First Strategy
In this scenario, we take approximately $1 million and use it to create a guaranteed income stream—essentially, a personal pension. The remaining $1 million stays invested in the market. However, here’s the critical difference: this $1 million never has to be touched. It just grows. When the market’s down, it’s down. When it’s up, it’s up. But the retiree never has to draw from it because their income needs are already covered.
The results? Absolutely bonkers.
In Scenario One, at age 96, the retiree has $753,000 remaining. They started with $2 million, controlled their risk with traditional methods, and ended up drawing down their portfolio significantly over three decades.
In Scenario Two, at age 96, the retiree has $4.3 million. That’s not a typo. By separating income needs from growth money, they ended up with nearly six times more wealth.
Why This Principle Changes Everything
The secret lies in a fundamental principle that can’t be missed: letting growth money be growth money, and letting safe money be safe money.
For decades, the traditional 60-40 portfolio—60% equities, 40% bonds—has been the standard. The problem? You’re asking the same dollar to do two completely different jobs at once. You’re straddling safety and growth simultaneously, and you’re not doing either one particularly well. It’s like trying to write with one hand tied behind your back.
Moreover, when all of your money is invested in the market and you have no guaranteed income, you’re at the mercy of forces beyond your control. Who controls the timing of the market? Not you. Who controls the returns? Not you. Who controls interest rates? Not you.
Therefore, your entire retirement hinges on the whims of something you cannot control. And the emotional toll of that reality is staggering.
The Emotional Advantage You Can’t Ignore
In 15 years of working with thousands of families, we can count on one hand the number of people who have successfully maintained a portfolio entirely dependent on market whims without making emotional, knee-jerk decisions. Three or four people out of thousands.
When markets drop, when elections loom, when pandemics hit—the vast majority of investors panic. They move to cash at exactly the wrong time. They make decisions driven by fear, not strategy. And as they get older, this tendency doesn’t improve—it intensifies.
Additionally, even those rare individuals who have maintained discipline in the past face an uncertain future. Past performance of emotional control doesn’t guarantee future results any more than past market performance does.
When you have polarity in your investments—when your growth money grows and your safe money provides guaranteed income—you smooth out the ride emotionally. You don’t have to worry. You can sleep at night. You can weather market storms without panic because your bills are paid regardless of what happens on Wall Street.
The Four Critical Mistakes We See Every Day
A recent Business Insider article highlighted a woman in her early 30s who wanted to retire as a millionaire. Her financial advisor identified four mistakes holding her back:
We see these same errors constantly. However, there’s an important distinction to make. In your 30s, you really only need to focus on two things: living below your means and saving consistently. You’re not thinking about income streams and tax diversification yet—and that’s okay.
But when families come to us in their 50s and 60s, these four mistakes become critical. They’re no longer theoretical concerns for the distant future. They’re immediate planning opportunities that will determine the success or failure of their retirement.
If You’re in Your 50s, Listen Carefully
Perhaps you’re listening to this and thinking, “I’m in my 50s, and I haven’t really gotten started on serious retirement planning.” Here’s what you need to know.
First, you’re most likely in your peak earning years. The amount you can advance the ball in the next five to ten years will stagger you. Most people come to us thinking they’re way behind because they still have the mindset of their 30s—when saving a couple hundred dollars a month felt like a lot.
In reality, many of you are maxing out your 401(k), doing additional savings on the side, and when we factor it all in, you’re saving substantial money every year. You’re going to be just fine. But this is the time to tackle planning opportunities because you’re in the retirement window.
Second, where you are saving your money now is almost as important as how much you’re saving. In fact, it may be equally important. There’s a mathematically optimal way to organize your savings—determining how much goes into this investment versus that investment, this taxable account versus that tax-deferred account. There’s a formula, a strategy that can really optimize what you’ve got.
The Retirement Window: Your Last Best Opportunity
Here’s something many people don’t realize: even if you retire tomorrow and begin taking income, you have significant opportunities to improve your situation. Until age 73—the required minimum distribution age—you have a window to make changes and improvements to your portfolio that will affect the next 20 to 30 years of your life more than you can imagine.
Just because you’re at or nearing retirement doesn’t mean your planning opportunities are over. In fact, the opposite is true. This is when strategic planning matters most. The decisions you make in this window will echo through decades of retirement living.
From Assumptions to Action
One of the biggest challenges we face is helping people move from abstract concerns to concrete plans. You might have a jumbled mess of information, fears, goals, and questions swirling around in your head. You’ve made assumptions—about how much you need, what returns you’ll earn, how long you’ll live—and you might not even realize how many assumptions you’ve made.
Our job is to help you expose those thoughts, diagnose potential problems, and show you—actually show you, not just tell you—the long-term effects of various strategies. We can demonstrate before-and-after scenarios. We can stress-test your plan for market volatility. We can make the invisible visible.
That’s what our process is built on: showing you. If you listen to financial radio or watch financial news, you hear one-liner headlines constantly. “Avoid risk.” “Manage volatility.” “Plan for taxes.” You understand these things matter. But what you’re probably left with is the question: how do I measure this?
Why Consistency Trumps Everything
We’re all subject to fads, news cycles, and being prisoners of the moment. Maybe you had a good year and decided to make some contributions or put money into a Roth account. But was there a strategy behind it? Or was it reactive?
In the good old United States of America, there are zero reasons why a person starting in their 30s can’t retire as a millionaire. That’s plenty of time, and there’s so much opportunity if you just do a few things right consistently.
And even if you’re now 50, 55, or 60, those principles haven’t changed. You don’t have as much time now, but the same principles apply. Whether you’re five years from retirement, 20 years from retirement, or knocking on the door of retirement, there are changes you can make and principles you can apply that will significantly improve your outcome.
Our Recognition and Commitment to Excellence
Best Financial Planner in Woodstock, GA for 2023, 2024, and 2025
We’ve built our reputation on a foundation of personalized service, comprehensive planning, and transparent communication. We’ve been recognized throughout the industry for our commitment to helping families navigate the complex journey to and through retirement. We’ve earned the trust of the Metro Atlanta community not through flashy marketing or empty promises, but through consistent results and genuine care for every family we serve. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of fiduciary responsibility, and our firm’s recognition reflects our dedication to putting your interests first in every decision we make.
Your Next Step: Let Us Show You
We’ve created a comprehensive process specifically designed to answer all the questions we’ve discussed today. What assumptions are you making? Where are the pitfalls in your current plan? How much do you actually need to save? How much risk do you actually need to take? What could your income look like if you retired now, in two years, or in five years?
We don’t just tell you what to do—we show you. We’ll take those jumbled thoughts from your head and get them on paper in a way you can see, understand, and confidently act upon.
We’re offering a complimentary three-meeting retirement planning process. This isn’t about selling you something. It’s about showing you what’s possible and helping you determine if our approach is right for you.
You can reach us at 770-485-1876 or visit our website at www.vincentplanning.com. Additionally, if you’d like to have a brief conversation to see if we are the right fit for you, we invite you to Book a ‘Can We Help’ Call. This short call is designed to answer your initial questions and help you understand how we might be able to assist with your specific situation.
For personalized financial guidance, reach out to Vincent Financial Group today to schedule a consultation.