Retirement can bring a lot of uncertainty, especially when life’s successes leave little time for planning. This is the story of Roger, a successful physician, who, despite his accomplishments, faced the pressing question: Can I afford to retire? With the personalized guidance of Mendoza Private Wealth, Roger and his family found clarity in their financial decisions, allowing them to prepare for retirement and create a lasting legacy that benefits future generations.
The Client
A 64-year-old physician—we’ll call him Roger (not his real name)—had built a successful private practice and family life. His flourishing practice allowed his wife, Mary (also not her real name), to stay home, and together they raised three children, whom they put through private schools and college, with two becoming doctors. However, when nearing the traditional retirement age, the doctor and his wife realized they hadn’t done any retirement planning.
Despite Roger’s success, he and Mary didn’t know when or if they could retire or how much money they could spend in retirement. Essentially, the couple was in need of catch-up retirement planning.
Retirement Planning for Financial Goals
There was no question the self-employed doctor had done well. Beyond putting their children through the best schools, Roger and Mary spent freely and took lavish excursions. They managed their investments, never realizing they were behind on retirement planning or the taxes they would owe on income distributions in retirement.
Fortunately, Mendoza Private Wealth’s comprehensive financial planning process helped get Roger and Mary’s retirement planning back on track. It all began with a “Fit Meeting,” where we took the time to understand their goals, priorities, and potential challenges.
With this deeper understanding, we were able to take specific actions that set their retirement plan in motion. For Roger and his wife, we:
- Reviewed the couple’s investment assets
- Evaluated selling their five-bedroom home to downsize
- Analyzed their overall financial picture
- Developed a multi-year plan
Roger and Mary implemented that plan 12 years ago to consolidate assets, reallocate low-return assets to higher growth, and maximize retirement contributions.
The Journey Into Retirement and Passing on a Legacy
With a clearer financial direction established, Roger and Mary began navigating their journey into retirement. But when Mary passed away, Roger was left to face new challenges that reshaped his future. Our role evolved—supporting Roger through these personal and financial changes while helping him maintain the path to a retirement that reflected his long-term goals. Here’s how we helped Roger on his journey.
- Supported Efforts to Downsize: Needing to move forward physically and emotionally, the doctor sold his home for less than he might have received. Supporting Roger through the emotional process, we helped him transition to a townhouse.
- Collaborated With Family and Professional Team: When a question of Roger’s cognitive capacity arose, we worked with his children, long-time CPA, office assistant, and attorney to ultimately implement a sophisticated limited partnership to safeguard his assets.
- Reworked Estate Plan: With an old irrevocable trust in place, Mendoza Private Wealth helped Roger engage a trust and estate attorney to decant (or amend) the trust, creating a new trust that provided access to a life insurance policy, that needed to be rescued. Roger cashed it out to share equally among his children.
- Set Up Education Savings for Grandchildren: Since the couple’s children were doing well financially, we created 529 education savings plans with the life insurance cash value for Roger’s eight grandchildren. The doctor took great pleasure in seeing his legacy passed to his grandchildren now, instead of after his death.
- Initiated an Exit Strategy From Medical Practice: To encourage Roger to retire, we initiated a 12-month plan to exit his practice. Still not believing he could afford to retire, the doctor held off. But after reviewing our modeling on real-world scenarios and financial stress tests, he gained confidence in the long-term sustainability of his retirement income. It took about 18 months, but Roger retired at 76.
- Implemented Clarity and Structure: He now has a clear spending policy in place based on automatic monthly distributions managed to minimize tax implications, and he is content with the consolidated and streamlined structure of his assets.
The Outcome: Retirement Planning Benefited Three Generations
Roger’s journey through retirement wasn’t without its challenges. From managing the loss of his wife to addressing his own health issues and concerns about leaving his practice, he faced several obstacles. However, with our careful guidance, he found a way forward.
Today, Roger enjoys a retirement with no financial stress, spending time with his grandchildren and appreciating the time he’s invested in his family’s future. His children, who are now clients, continue to benefit from the planning strategies put in place—extending those advantages to the next generation.
Start Your Retirement Planning Today
Planning for retirement can seem daunting. But with the right financial partner, the future you imagine is possible. Mendoza Private Wealth is here to offer guidance for every stage of your financial journey.
Do you know if you have enough money to retire? Schedule a Fit Meeting today and start building a future with greater confidence.
About Ivan
Iván M. Mendoza is the Managing Principal and a Financial Advisor for Mendoza Private Wealth, a fee-only boutique, private wealth management practice with a focus on research, planning, and investment management. Working with clients in Miami and throughout South Florida, Iván provides investment and wealth planning advice to individuals and families and to their respective trusts, estates, foundations, endowments, and pension plans.
Iván began his career with Prudential in 1999, where he quickly advanced to Manager of Financial Services, overseeing a team of financial planners. In 2012, he joined Sanford C. Bernstein’s private client group as Vice President and Financial Advisor. Driven by his commitment to providing objective advice, he founded Mendoza Private Wealth in 2016. Iván holds multiple designations, including CFA®, CFP®, CDFA®, CLTC®, CLU®, and ChFC®, and is passionate about creating confidence in clients through sound financial planning and investment strategies.
A first-generation American of Peruvian heritage, Iván resides in Miami with his wife, Ana, and their two sons, Emiliano and Alessandro. He enjoys traveling, discovering new restaurants, all things science, World Cup soccer, and staying active through running and biking. An advocate for education, he draws inspiration from his grandfather, a former Minister of Education in Peru, and supports educational causes in his community. Iván is also a music enthusiast with a wide range of tastes, from jazz to reggae to heavy metal. To learn more about Iván, connect with him on LinkedIn.
