I’ve made it to 60 and can retire… now look at all these decisions!

Pat was turning 60 and it was time to retire! Fishing trips, vacations to visit the kids, and doing some part time consulting were all finally going to become a reality. So Pat began to work on some cash flow calculations based upon the information provided to him from his previous employers.

One of the jobs that Pat held was with the State of Missouri so there was a pension plan. At another position he had earlier in life, Patrick had a 401(k) plan. Pat also had an IRA, CD's and regular investments. As he began to look at the different cash flow alternatives, the options became more and more intimidating.

Should he take the annuity from the State and play it safe? Should he cash in the State plan and allow the money to grow as he didn't need it right away? Should he take cash flow he needed today from his 401(k) or from the State retirement plan? How much would he need? What could he take out without causing big tax problems or depleting his assets??

This was when a friend of his directed him to contact The Buttonwood Team. Pat came to the Buttonwood offices with a big pile of paper and more than 100 questions he had written down on the yellow notebook tablet. We started with question one and statement one and worked our way through.

In the end, Pat implemented a variety of different strategies, taking advantage of the strengths of each one of the retirement plans and investment accounts that he had. Today Pat is enjoying the life he worked so hard to save for over the years and Buttonwood takes care of all the day to day issues surrounding Patrick's financial life.