Navigating Retirement Transitions: Essential Strategies for General Dynamics Employees

You've worked hard with General Dynamics for many years anticipating the day you could finally retire. Well, the day is finally here! But with it comes the realization that you'll need to carefully manage your assets so that your retirement savings will last.

Review Your Portfolio Regularly

We'd first like to recommend that our General Dynamics clients review their portfolios regularly. Traditional wisdom holds that retirees should value the safety of their principal above all else. For this reason, some people shift their investment portfolios to fixed-income investments, such as bonds and money market accounts, as they approach retirement. The problem with this approach is that you'll effectively lose purchasing power if the return on your investments doesn't keep up with inflation. While it generally makes sense for your portfolio to become progressively more conservative as you grow older, it may be wise for our General Dynamics clients to consider maintaining at least a portion of their portfolio in growth investments.

Spend Wisely

We want to remind our clients that it's not wise to assume that they'll be able to live on the earnings generated by their investment portfolio and General Dynamics-sponsored retirement accounts for the rest of their life, and they should spend wisely. At some point, you'll probably have to start drawing on the principal. It's important that General Dynamics clients be careful not to spend too much too soon. This can be a great temptation, particularly early in your retirement.

A good guideline for our General Dynamics clients to follow is to make sure their annual withdrawal rate isn't greater than 4% to 6% of their portfolio. (The appropriate percentage for you will depend on a number of factors, including the length of your payout period and your portfolio's asset allocation.) We'd like our General Dynamics clients to remember that if you whittle away your principal too quickly, you may not be able to earn enough on the remaining principal to carry you through the later years.

Understand Your Retirement Plan Distribution Options

Most pension plans pay benefits in the form of an annuity. For our clients from General Dynamics who are married, you generally must choose between a higher retirement benefit paid over your lifetime or a smaller benefit that continues to your spouse after your death. We recommend you speak with a financial professional who can help them with this difficult, but important, decision.

Other  General Dynamics-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s typically don't pay benefits as annuities; the distribution (and investment) options available to you may be limited. This may be important because if you're trying to stretch your savings, you'll want to withdraw money from your retirement accounts as slowly as possible. Doing so will conserve the principal balance, and will also give those funds the chance to continue growing tax-deferred during your years of retirement after leaving General Dynamics.

Consider whether it makes sense to roll your General Dynamics retirement account into a traditional IRA, which typically has very flexible withdrawal options. ¹  If you decide to work for another employer, you might also be able to transfer assets you've accumulated to your new employer's plan, if the new employer offers a retirement plan and allows a rollover.

Plan for Required Distributions

We would like our General Dynamics clients to keep in mind that you must generally begin taking minimum distributions from retirement plans and traditional IRAs when you reach age 70½, whether you need them or not. Plan to spend these dollars first in retirement.

For our General Dynamics clients who own a Roth IRA, you aren't required to take any distributions during your lifetime. Your funds can continue to grow tax-deferred, and qualified distributions will be tax-free. Because of these unique tax benefits, it generally makes sense to withdraw funds from a Roth IRA last.

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Know Your Social Security Options

You'll need to decide when to start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits. At the normal retirement age (which varies from 66 to 67, depending on the year you were born), you can receive your full Social Security retirement benefit. You can elect to receive your Social Security retirement benefit as early as age 62, but if you begin receiving your benefit before your normal retirement age, your benefit will be reduced. Conversely, if you delay your retirement from General Dynamics, you can increase your Social Security retirement benefit.

Consider Phasing

For many, the sudden change from General Dynamics employee to General Dynamics retiree can be a difficult one. Some employers, especially those in the public sector, have begun offering 'phased retirement' plans to address this problem. Phased retirement generally allows you to continue working on a part-time basis--you benefit by having a smoother transition from full-time employment to retirement, and your employer benefits by retaining the services of a talented employee. Some phased retirement plans even allow you to access all or part of your pension benefit while you work part-time.

Of course, to the extent you are able to support yourself with a salary, the less you'll need to dip into your retirement savings. Another advantage of delaying full retirement from General Dynamics is that you can continue to build tax-deferred funds in your IRA or General Dynamics-sponsored retirement plan. However, it's important to keep in mind that you may be required to start taking minimum distributions from your qualified retirement plan or traditional IRA once you reach age 70½, if you want to avoid substantial penalties.

For our General Dynamics clients who do continue to work, make sure you understand the consequences. Some pension plans base your retirement benefit on your final average pay. If you work part-time, your pension benefit may be reduced because your pay has gone down. We want to remind these General Dynamics employees that income from a job may affect the amount of Social Security retirement benefit they receive if they are under normal retirement age. But once you reach normal retirement age, you can earn as much as you want without affecting your Social Security retirement benefit.

Facing a Shortfall

What if you're nearing your retirement from General Dynamics and you determine that your retirement income may not be adequate to meet your retirement expenses? If your retirement is just around the corner, you may need to drastically change your spending and saving habits. Saving even a little money can really add up if you do it consistently and earn a reasonable rate of return. By making permanent changes to your spending habits, you'll find that your savings will last even longer. Start by preparing a budget to see where your money is going. Here are some ways our General Dynamics clients can stretch their retirement dollars:

• Refinance your home mortgage if interest rates have dropped since you obtained your loan, or reduce your housing expenses by moving to a less expensive home or apartment.
• Access the equity in your home. Use the proceeds from a second mortgage or home equity line of credit to pay off higher-interest-rate debts, or consider a reverse mortgage.
• Sell one of your cars if you have two. When your remaining car needs to be replaced, consider buying a used one.
• Transfer credit card balances from higher-interest cards to a low- or no-interest card, and then cancel the old accounts.
• Ask about insurance discounts and review your insurance needs (e.g., your need for life insurance may have lessened).
• Reduce discretionary expenses such as lunches and dinners out.

By planning carefully, investing wisely, and spending thoughtfully, you can increase the likelihood that your retirement from General Dynamics will be a financially comfortable one.