This past Christmas, my family and I bundled up and flew to Paris, trading the snowdrifts of Saskatchewan for the glowing avenues and boulevards of the City of Lights.
The city was beautiful – holiday lights everywhere, music in the streets, and the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night. On New Year’s Eve, we stood by the Seine River drinking hot chocolate. Our daughters were laughing, and the whole city felt magical.
In that moment, Keri and I thought about how lucky we were to be there. And I also thought about something I talk about often in my work as a wealth advisor: having the freedom to enjoy special moments like this. That freedom doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from good planning.
Retirement is not about how big your savings are. It’s about making sure you have enough income every year for the rest of your life. You can’t buy groceries—or trips to Paris—with a number on a statement. You need steady, growing income.
The question really is this: Will your income outlive you, or will you outlive your income? For a couple who retires at 62 and is in good health, their income needs to last until around age 92. That’s a long time, almost like another whole lifetime.
But here’s the challenge: everything gets more expensive over time. Even if your first year of retirement feels comfortable, prices will rise. To keep up, your income needs to grow to more than double what it was at the start of retirement.
This is why a fixed income is not enough. Fixed income doesn’t grow. It stays the same while your costs rise. That means over time, it buys less and less. That’s why you need a plan that allows your income to grow over time.
Standing in Paris at Christmas, watching my kids smile, I felt even more sure about the message I share with clients: planning well today helps you enjoy the moments that matter tomorrow.
If you want a retirement where you can say yes—yes to travel, yes to fun with your family, yes to peace of mind—let’s build a plan that helps your income grow over time.
Reach out to us today, and let’s make sure your income lasts as long as you do.
Maybe later” is not a financial plan.“ —Stuart Sutton
