Common Client Retirement Mistakes & More

As Americans become more aware of the need to develop sound retirement plans, the financial services profession is responding by making an increased effort to get educated on the retirement income issues of our time.

Speaking to the retirement income crisis brewing in America, Professor Jamie Hopkins, co-director of the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) program at The American College of Financial Services, sat down with NBC 10 News in Philadelphia to discuss what people need to know about retirement, including some common retirement mistakes.

In this video, Professor Hopkins covers safe savings and withdrawal rates, common retirement mistakes, spending smart, and more.

The clip originally aired March 19, 2017 on NBC 10 (WCAU) in Philadelphia as part of the station's regular "@Issue" segment. In this feature, Professor Hopkins is interviewed by George Spencer.

Spencer opens the segment by setting up the retirement income crisis in America. He references a recent Fidelity Investments retirement quiz that did not bode well for Americans – most people who took the quiz failed. It turns out that everyday Americans don't have a basic grasp of their personal finances, let alone the challenges a person could face as they enter retirement.

Professor Hopkins and Spencer then kick off a discussion of what people can do to make more progress toward smart retirement savings. As Professor Hopkins notes, it's there's probably more at stake for the average American planning for retirement than for someone with a high net worth. An average American can't afford to make mistakes with their retirement plans.

One of the biggest mistakes people have when it comes to their retirement income is not having a plan at all, Professor Hopkins said, noting that many people don't have a good sense of how much can be safely withdrawn from the retirement portfolio.

"A lot of people think, 'I'm going to average 8 percent in the market on my portfolio, so that means I can spend 8 percent.' 

"Well, that's not true," Professor Hopkins said. People can actually spend about half of that, based on the "4 percent rule."

One of the biggest challenges of retirement is making a certain amount of money last for an uncertain amount of time. With longevity on the rise, the number of years people are living in retirement is increasing as well, and having a comfortable retirement for 15 years is an entirely different circumstance than having a retirement that lasts 30 years or longer.

Professor Hopkins and his colleagues at The American College of Financial Services are committed to helping solve the retirement income crisis in America by providing financial services professionals with the education and skills necessary to help Americans retire smarter. More than 15,000 advisors have already signed up for the groundbreaking Retirement Income Certified Professional^® (RICP^®) designation program at The College. This specialized professional designation prepares advisors to help clients transition from the asset accumulation phase into the decumulation phase of retirement. By crafting smart, flexible retirement income strategies, advisors put clients in a better position to mitigate risks and have the retirement they want.