A Guide to Family Finance Conversations Webinar
Confidence in retirement is a common challenge: more than half of today’s retirees say they do not know how long their savings will last, and nearly half report that their expenses turned out to be higher than they had planned for.
For high-net-worth individuals, the concern isn’t usually the size of the portfolio – inflation, market timing, taxes, and healthcare are working against every portfolio, regardless of size. And even a well-built plan should be reviewed regularly as goals, tax laws, markets, and family circumstances shift over time.
The real question is not whether you have enough. It is whether your plan is built to keep working for as long as you need it to.
The Lifestyle Math Most People Get Wrong
Most retirement conversations start and end with a withdrawal rate, some version of "spend 4% and you will be fine." That shorthand made sense in an era of simpler finances, but it doesn’t hold up well for households with concentrated stock positions, real estate, business interests, or multiple tax structures.
Two realities complicate the simple 4% math. First, spending in retirement is rarely flat. It tends to follow a curve: higher in the active early years, lower in a quieter middle stretch, and higher again later as healthcare needs increase. A static withdrawal number ignores that trend entirely. Second, the timing of market performance matters as much as its average. A portfolio that experiences a downturn in the first few years of retirement, even if it recovers fully over time, can create early complications because withdrawals continue regardless of market conditions. This is sequence-of-returns risk, and it is one of the most underappreciated threats to a comfortable retirement.
Ask yourself:
1. Does your plan hold up over a long time horizon? Planning to age 100 or beyond may seem excessive, but the point is that anything can happen – and your plan needs to be flexible, not fall short.
2. Does your plan hold up under stress? If the market fell 20% in your first year of retirement, would your plan still hold? For many retirees, the answer is "I am not sure," and that uncertainty is exactly what a coordinated plan can help eliminate.
Four Factors That Actually Sustain a Lifestyle
Sustaining your lifestyle through retirement comes down to coordinating four areas, each of which affects the others.
Income architecture. The order in which you claim Social Security, draw on retirement accounts, and layer in portfolio withdrawals sets the foundation for everything else. Guaranteed income sources reduce how much of your lifestyle depends on market performance in any given year. A clearly sequenced withdrawal strategy, documented in your financial plan, is essential in building a sustainable plan.
Is your withdrawal strategy clear in your financial plan?
Tax-efficient planning. Drawing from taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth accounts in the right order, and in the right years, can meaningfully extend how long those assets last. The sequencing decision changes every year based on income, tax law, and market conditions, which is why it deserves more attention than it typically gets. A plan that incorporates tax management year-round, rather than a once-a-year exercise at tax time, can help you preserve more of your wealth over time.
Does your financial plan prioritize strategic tax management?
Diversifying beyond 60/40. Just like the 4% withdrawal rate is no longer one-size-fits-all, the classic 60/40 approach may not be right for your portfolio. Stocks and bonds still play a role, but today’s global capital markets offer a wide range of investment options across asset classes, sectors, geographies, and styles. 94% of high-net-worth investors now hold private or alternative assets, with private markets making up close to a third of their investable portfolios. Alternative investments, such as private credit, seek sources of return that may be less correlated to traditional asset classes – a true diversification benefit.
If your portfolio still looks the way it did a few years ago, it is worth a second look?
Healthcare and long-term care planning. These are lifestyle risks, not just cost projections. Even a portfolio built to last until age 100 may not be enough: one in five healthy couples will still outlive their savings, and half will have one spouse live past 95. An unplanned care need late in life can force asset sales at the wrong time, unless the plan has already identified where that liquidity comes from, which can include an existing life insurance policy that no longer serves its original goal. Stress testing your plan can help ensure it can withstand the unexpected.
Has your plan been stress-tested against a health event that costs more, or lasts longer, than expected?
Why This Needs a Coordinator, Not a Calculator
None of the four factors above operate in isolation. A tax-efficient withdrawal decision can affect Medicare premiums. An allocation to alternative investments changes the liquidity available for a gifting strategy. A long-term care decision can reshape your entire estate plan.
The strongest plans bring income, tax, estate, and investment strategy together in one comprehensive financial plan, and that’s exactly what our experts can do for you.
We can help
A financial advisor can help you bring every element of your financial life into alignment - from investments to taxes, retirement planning, estate planning, and more – and provide guidance and advice to help you reach your goals. Connect with us today to review your plan and ensure it’s on the right track.
Sources: Schroders’ 2026 US Retirement Survey, Long Angle’s High-Net-Worth Asset Allocation: 2026 Benchmark Report, The American College of Financial Services Retirement Income Literacy Study
Please consult with an attorney or a tax or financial advisor regarding your specific legal, tax, estate planning, or financial situation. The information in this article is not intended as legal or tax advice.
