Turning Top of Mind into Peace of Mind

Multistage Retirement Spending With RightCapital

Client Profile:

A recently retired couple in their mid-60s wants confidence that their financial resources can support a long retirement. They expect their lifestyle and care needs to change over time and want clarity on how those transitions will affect their cash flow.

The Planning Challenge:

Most retirees don’t spend evenly throughout retirement. Instead, spending naturally evolves in stages—often increasing as healthcare needs rise. This couple is concerned about three specific stages:

1. Independent Living / In-Home Care: Higher discretionary spending in early retirement (travel, hobbies). Moderate healthcare and home maintenance costs. Potential introduction of part-time in-home care in their late 70s.
2. Assisted Living: Reduced discretionary spending. Predictable monthly care costs. Housing expenses shift from mortgage/upkeep to facility fees.
3. Long-Term Care (LTC) / Skilled Nursing: Largest potential expense. Uncertainty around timing and length of stay. Desire to preserve assets for a surviving spouse and legacy goals.

Solution With RightCapital:

RightCapital allows the advisor to model each retirement stage with tailored assumptions, producing a dynamic, scenario-based cash flow analysis.

How the Advisor Builds It:

• Create spending stages for each life change
• Home-care costs beginning at a set age
• Assisted living costs triggered by a transition year
• Long-term care costs modeled with facility-specific annual expenses
• Run multiple scenarios
• Integrate Social Security, pensions, RMDs, and portfolio drawdowns

RightCapital’s detailed cash flow engine shows year-by-year sources of income, withdrawals, and tax impact. These scenarios are stress tested through a Monte Carlo simulation.

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Differences in account size, timing of transactions, and market conditions prevailing at the time of investment may lead to different results, and clients may lose money. Clients should consult with their personal tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of investing.

The investment strategies and broad themes discussed herein may be inappropriate for investors depending on their specific investment objectives and financial situation. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results, and the results disclosed herein may not be representative of all client experiences with Carlson Investments. Your experience may be less successful than the ones disclosed above. Our ability to help clients is very specific to each individual situation and may require additional resources not noted in these situations.

Retirement Readiness With Uncertain Timelines

Client Profile:

A couple in their early 60s is preparing for retirement within the next one to two years. They have saved diligently but are unsure whether their current assets, projected income, and potential inheritance will be enough to support a full retirement.

One spouse is in strong health and likely to have a long life expectancy. The other spouse has significant health issues, creating uncertainty around care needs and longevity. They expect an inheritance but do not know the timing or value.

The couple wants clarity about whether they can retire now, how much they can safely spend, and what risks could undermine their plan.

The Planning Challenge:

This situation presents three major uncertainties:

1. Income & Portfolio Sufficiency: They need to understand whether their existing savings—Social Security, retirement accounts, taxable investments—can support retirement if the inheritance ends up being modest or delayed.
2. Variable Longevity Between Spouses: Because one spouse is in poor health and the other in good health, their retirement timeline may span multiple lifetimes and spending styles. The plan must account for both: Higher medical spending now and a surviving spouse who may live 20+ additional years
3. Unknown Inheritance Amount: The inheritance could range widely. It might cover late-life healthcare needs—or it might add very little. The uncertainty makes it difficult for them to commit to retirement.

Advisor Approach Using RightCapital:

RightCapital can model these uncertainties explicitly, providing a clear, scenario-based plan.

1. Build a Base Retirement Plan Without the Inheritance

This establishes whether they can retire solely on what they know today.

Outcome: A conservative foundation that shows whether retirement is possible even if the inheritance is minimal.

2. Moderate Inheritance Scenario

A mid-size inheritance arriving at a realistic age. This covers healthcare spikes or long-term care.

Outcome: A realistic scenario that helps cover the most pessimistic possibilities.

3. High Inheritance Scenario

A large lump sum arriving earlier in their retirement.

Outcome: An optimistic setup that supports enhanced lifestyle or reduces portfolio drawdowns.

Overlay Health-Based Spending Stages: The couple faces different paths depending on health outcomes. RightCapital can overlay healthcare costs associated with different longevities to stress test each plan scenario.

Client Outcome:

After the meeting, the client feels:

• Confidence: They see whether they can retire now—even if the inheritance is lower than hoped.
• Clarity: They understand how their uneven health conditions impact spending needs and longevity risks.
• Control: They know what levers they can adjust (working one more year, downsizing, Social Security timing, spending levels).
• Peace of Mind: The uncertainty around inheritance becomes manageable because the plan incorporates multiple possibilities—not assumptions.

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Differences in account size, timing of transactions, and market conditions prevailing at the time of investment may lead to different results, and clients may lose money. Clients should consult with their personal tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of investing.

The investment strategies and broad themes discussed herein may be inappropriate for investors depending on their specific investment objectives and financial situation. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results, and the results disclosed herein may not be representative of all client experiences with Carlson Investments. Your experience may be less successful than the ones disclosed above. Our ability to help clients is very specific to each individual situation and may require additional resources not noted in these situations.