When I began my career in wealth management, most retirement plans were designed to last 20 years or so.
Today, with life expectancies stretching into the 90s and beyond, many retirees may need to plan for 30 or even 40 years of income and that reality has completely reshaped how I think about retirement planning.
Inflation: The Silent Killer
One of the biggest mistakes I see is retirees getting too conservative too soon, focusing on protecting principal and generating income through bonds or CDs, while underestimating the silent killer: inflation.
Over time, inflation erodes purchasing power, leaving them vulnerable, so I emphasize the need to maintain exposure to growth and inflation-hedging assets. It may feel safer to retreat fully into fixed income, but in a long retirement, it may be riskier.
Generational Shifts
I’ve noticed a generational divide with younger clients, often in their 20s, thinking about retirement earlier than ever.
That’s encouraging, because the earlier they start, the more compounding works in their favor. Additionally, they’re less confident in programs like Social Security, so I often encourage them to save more aggressively to compensate for the uncertainty.
Older clients, meanwhile, sometimes feel blindsided. They thought they had prepared enough, but with higher life expectancy, rising healthcare costs, and volatile markets, the landscape may have shifted under their feet. I think it’s critical to stress test their plans under different scenarios so they can feel confident they won’t outlive their money.
Another trend I’m seeing is clients saying, “I’ll never really retire.”
They plan to work part-time, consult, or start small businesses, and while that mindset is healthy, I also remind them of the risks, such as health issues, which can disrupt even the best intentions.
Therefore, I strive to build flexibility and contingencies into every plan, so that whether clients keep working or stop suddenly, they can be confident their portfolio will support them.
Asset Allocation in a Longer Retirement
The traditional 60/40 portfolio isn’t always enough when retirement lasts decades.
Relying solely on fixed income can backfire, especially when reinvestment risk reduces yields over time. Instead, I try to advocate for a balanced approach that blends growth, income, and inflation protection.
Annuities can also play a role today, especially with higher interest rates making fixed or immediate annuities more attractive. When combined with Social Security or pensions, these guaranteed income sources provide stability, freeing up other assets to focus on growth.
Longer lifespans also mean rethinking risk tolerance. Sometimes, clients’ comfort levels don’t align with the returns they need to sustain their lifestyle.
I use planning tools to show them the trade-offs and help them understand that taking on some level of additional risk may be necessary. It’s not about being reckless—it’s about aligning the portfolio with reality.
Alternatives can have a place in retirement planning: there is private credit, which can generate higher yields than traditional bonds and may strengthen income streams; infrastructure investments, which can provide exposure to growing energy demands and AI data center build outs around the globe; and, private equity to expand the investment opportunity set to millions of private businesses instead of thousands of publicly traded stocks.
I don’t advocate overexposure, but I do believe the selective use of alternatives can improve the probability of long-term success.
The New Math of Retirement
The bottom line is that retirement today requires more proactive planning than ever before.
It’s no longer something that “happens” at age 65, but an ongoing process that demands education, adaptability, and foresight.
For younger clients, that means saving earlier and more aggressively, while for retirees, it means staying invested in growth assets, building in flexibility, and preparing for a retirement that could last as long as their working years.
My role is to help clients not just accumulate wealth but sustain it across a lifetime that may be longer than they imagined. If we do the planning right, I believe my clients can feel confident not only that they’ll live longer, but that they’ll live better in their retirement years.
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