Your Financial Plan May Need to Move With You.
Moving to The Villages can be about much more than changing your address. For many people, it marks the beginning of an entirely new chapter—retirement, new routines, new friendships, and a different way of thinking about how you want to spend your time.
But while you’re busy choosing a home, finding your favorite golf course, joining clubs, and figuring out which town square you like best, there’s another move worth considering:
Does your financial plan still fit your life now that you live in Florida?
A financial plan that made sense while you were working and living in another state may need another look once you’ve retired or relocated to The Villages.
Your Financial Life May Have Changed More Than Your Address
For many people, a move to The Villages happens around the same time as retirement.
That can mean several financial changes happening at once.
A regular paycheck may be replaced by Social Security, a pension, investment income, or withdrawals from retirement accounts. A 401(k) from a former employer may still need attention. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) may be approaching. Medicare premiums and potential IRMAA surcharges may become more relevant. And decisions about taxes, investments, income, and estate planning can suddenly become interconnected.
This is why retirement planning isn’t simply about whether you’ve saved “enough.”
We believe it’s also about coordinating the pieces of your financial life so they continue to support the life you’re building.
Florida May Change Parts of Your Financial Picture
Moving from another state can also change some of the assumptions behind your existing financial plan.
Florida does not impose an individual state income tax, which is one factor that may be relevant when reviewing your retirement income and overall tax picture after a move. Your housing expenses, insurance costs, charitable giving, and overall spending may also look different than they did before your move.
This can be a good time to revisit questions such as:
- Where should my retirement income come from each year?
- When should I begin Social Security?
- How should withdrawals from taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth accounts work together?
- Should I consider Roth conversions?
- How could withdrawals or Roth conversions affect Medicare premiums and IRMAA?
- How much cash should I keep available in retirement?
- Does the amount of investment risk I’m taking still make sense?
- Are my beneficiaries and estate documents current?
- Does my spouse understand our finances and know who to call if something happens to me?
Not every question will apply to every retiree. One of the most important parts is understanding how the decisions that do apply to you may affect one another.
What About the Financial Advisor You Left Back Home?
This is a question we hear from people who relocate to Central Florida.
You may have worked with the same financial professional for years—or even decades. That relationship may still serve you very well after your move.
But relocation can also be a natural time to ask whether your financial relationship still fits what you need today.
Your priorities during your working years may have centered primarily on accumulating assets.
Retirement commonly introduces a different set of questions.
Now you may be thinking about how to turn those savings into income, how much you can comfortably spend, how taxes may affect withdrawals, when to claim Social Security, how to prepare for extended care, and what would happen financially if one spouse died.
You may also simply value having someone local—someone you can sit across the table from when an important decision needs to be made.
Moving doesn’t automatically mean you need a new financial advisor. But it can be a good reason to take a fresh look at the relationship you have and the planning you’re receiving.
Don’t Forget the Rest of Your Professional Team
Your financial advisor isn’t the only professional relationship worth reviewing after a move.
Estate planning documents prepared in another state should generally be reviewed with a Florida estate planning attorney to determine whether updates are appropriate. You may also need to establish a relationship with a local CPA or tax professional.
Your financial advisor, CPA, and estate planning attorney each have different roles, but many retirement decisions cross those boundaries.
A Roth conversion is a financial-planning decision that can have tax consequences.
A beneficiary designation is typically connected to both your financial accounts and your estate plan.
Extended-care planning can affect your income, investments, spouse, and legacy.
Having professionals who can coordinate when appropriate may make it easier to see the whole picture.
Make Sure Both Spouses Know the Plan
There’s another issue we believe deserves particular attention when couples enter retirement.
Often, one spouse has historically handled most of the family’s finances.
They know where the accounts are held. They communicate with the financial advisor. They understand the investments, insurance policies, passwords, Social Security benefits, and monthly income.
The other spouse may be involved—but sometimes not nearly as much.
That can become a significant challenge if the spouse who manages the finances becomes ill or dies.
Retirement planning should consider more than investment performance. It should also consider whether both spouses understand the plan and feel comfortable with the people helping them manage it.
Ask yourselves:
If something happened to either of us tomorrow, would the other know what to do next?
If the answer isn’t an immediate yes, we believe that’s worth addressing.
Retirement Planning Should Reflect the Life You’re Actually Living
One of the wonderful things about retirement in The Villages is that life can become very active.
Travel. Golf. Pickleball. Clubs. Restaurants. Concerts. Visiting children and grandchildren. New hobbies. New friends.
Those aren’t side notes to a financial plan.
They can be the reason for the plan.
Your retirement strategy should reflect what you actually want your retirement to look like—not simply a collection of accounts and investment statements.
That means understanding what your lifestyle costs, where your income will come from, what risks you need to prepare for, and what matters most to you and your family.
New Home. New Chapter. Time for a Financial Check-In.
If you’ve recently moved to The Villages—or you’re preparing to make the move—you don’t necessarily need to start your financial life over.
But this transition can be an excellent opportunity to make sure your financial plan has moved forward with you.
We recommend you review your retirement income strategy. Look at your investments and risk. Consider your tax situation. Review Social Security and Medicare decisions. Update beneficiaries and estate documents when appropriate. Make sure both spouses understand the plan.
What we feel is most important is making sure the financial decisions you’re making today reflect the retirement you’re actually living.
In our office, we work with individuals and couples approaching and enjoying retirement in The Villages and throughout Central Florida. Our planning looks at the whole picture—including retirement income, investments, Social Security, tax considerations, extended care, survivor planning, and legacy and estate coordination.
If you’ve recently moved to The Villages and would like a fresh look at your financial plan, we welcome the opportunity to start with a conversation.
Schedule a conversation with our office.
Kelley C. Pyles, with Royal Fund Management is an Investment Adviser Representative of and investment services offered through Royal Fund Management, LLC, Royal Fund is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and only transacts business in the U.S. in states where it is properly notice filed or is excluded or exempted from registration requirements. 401(k) Maneuver is another business name for Royal Fund Management, LLC. Registration as an investment advisor does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC or any other securities regulator and does not mean the advisor has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Insurance product guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing company. The adviser is paid commissions on the sale of insurance products only. Royal Fund Management and Kelley C. Pyles are not engaged in the practice of law or accounting and any advice provided should not be construed as legal or accounting advice. The information discussed and presented herein is intended to serve as a basis for further discussion with your financial, legal, tax and/or accounting advisors. It is not a substitute for competent advice from these advisors.
