Retirement means something different for high-net-worth individuals than it does for everyone else. To speak plainly, if you have millions of dollars to your name and a business empire to manage, your retirement will simply look vastly different compared to someone who manages to save a few million dollars over their entire career.
It’s smart to start retirement planning sooner rather than later, of course. But you also have to account for a variety of other concerns, asset distribution decisions, and much more. Today, let's go over six key steps to high-net-worth retirement planning.
Why Opt for High-Net-Worth Retirement Planning?
High-net-worth retirement planning isn’t just about having a comfortable nest egg but about making sure that nest egg lasts. With people living longer, the risk of outliving your savings is real.
Spending $20,000 a month is a breeze when you’re earning $30,000. But in retirement, where that $30,000 disappears, you need a plan to ensure your $20,000 lifestyle remains sustainable.
High-net-worth individuals face unique challenges – complex tax situations, diverse investments, legacy planning. More than a matter of just setting aside money, high-net-worth retirement planning serves to create a holistic strategy for financial security and peace of mind in your golden years.
Step 1 – Account for Your Assets and Accounts
First and foremost, you need to take stock of all of your assets and accounts as they stand today. The best way to determine what you need to achieve your ideal retirement – and to have the right savings for your plans – is to know:
- How much money and other assets you have right now
- What level of assets or wealth you need to achieve by the time you retire (do you want to vacation, build a new business, relax at home, or something else?)
- The difference between those two values or sums
For example, do you have a few million dollars in the bank? Do you have a portfolio of real estate properties that you collect income from every month? Take stock of everything you own before proceeding. Otherwise, you’ll plan for your retirement without fully grasping where you’re starting the journey.
Step 2 – Develop Your Long-Term Goals
Next, you need to develop your long-term retirement goals if you haven't already. For many high-net-worth individuals, a standard spread of retirement goals includes something like:
- You want to have enough money to live comfortably in one or more properties
- You want to distribute money and other assets to your kids, grandkids, and other beneficiaries
- You want to contribute to charitable organizations or your former college
- Etc.
Most importantly, you should have at least a broad sense of when you want to retire. When you turn 50? 60? How about when your business has expanded to five different countries?
If you haven’t developed any long-term retirement goals, the next step could help you determine them.
Step 3 – Contact a Wealth Manager/Asset Protection Professional
At this stage, it's important to contact a dedicated wealth manager or asset protection professional. However, you should only work with a high-net-worth wealth manager – these specialized experts know the tools of the trade and strategies that are relevant for someone of your income level.
A wealth manager is a capable professional who can count, organize, and maintain your estate for years to come. More importantly, they will help you develop and implement strategies related to:
- Investing your assets so your money works for you and generates extra income over time
- Protecting your assets so that creditors, lawsuits, and other legal threats won’t deplete your wealth over the years
- Setting money aside or investing your money in specific ways to build and maintain a retirement fund so you can enjoy the later years of your life with the full range of creature comforts you desire and deserve
As noted above, if you haven’t yet fully ironed out your long-term retirement goals, a wealth manager can offer recommendations and suggestions.
They can also tell you what’s likely feasible and what might be pie-in-the-sky based on your current wealth level and what it may grow to, given your career trajectory, income projections, etc.
Step 4 – Devise an Asset Protection and Retirement Plan
Now you need to devise a comprehensive, effective asset protection and retirement plan.
How does this impact your retirement? If you have a good asset protection plan, your nest egg or accumulated wealth will still be there when you want it.
If you don’t have stellar asset protection, you could arrive at your preplanned retirement date, only to find that you don’t have nearly as much money or nearly as many assets as you originally intended.
In many cases, this involves setting up an offshore asset protection trust. This kind of trust is highly effective at preserving wealth over generations.
It’s not in the US, so it’s not beholden to US court rulings, judgments, and case precedent. It’s also a good tool because it takes ownership of key assets out of your hands.
That way, even if you are found liable for damages in a court case or creditor claim, you can’t be legally required to take the assets out of the trust to pay your debts. It’s impossible!
Step 5 – Create Trusts, Transfer Assets, and Take Other Steps
For the next step, you’ll want to finally create the protective vehicles that you’ll use to safeguard your retirement assets and funds.
In most cases, this involves setting up an offshore asset protection trust. These vehicles are highly effective for high-net-worth entrepreneurs and other professionals.
The right asset protection trust, after all, can't be breached by the US legal system very easily or at all, provided it is properly drafted by expert advisors like the people at Dominion.
You’ll want to create your protective trusts and other vehicles well ahead of when you need them.
If, for example, you are sued and try to create a trust during the legal process, even if you transfer money into the trust in time, a judge might accuse you of fraudulent conveyance or transferring money specifically to avoid having to pay damages.
It’s much wiser to create your trusts and fill them with assets before you need them. Not only is this safer, since it can take months to create a trust vehicle, but it’s also the only surefire way to avoid being convicted of fraudulent conveyance.
Plus, transferring assets into your trust can take several months depending on the type, amount, and other elements.
Step 6 – Monitor and Adjust Your Plan as Needed
Congratulations! Now you’ve planned for your retirement and sequestered away the key assets and liquid capital you need to live in comfort and achieve all of your postretirement goals.
However, you’ll still want to monitor your plan and specific vehicles like your offshore asset protection trust. When you work with the experts at Dominion, this is part of the service right from the start.
We’ll provide you with regular reports and ensure that you and any other beneficiaries involved in the trust receive your distributions on time and in full.
When you work with premium wealth managers and financial advisors, you get premium service. At Dominion, we pride ourselves on being partners to all of our clients over decades.
If you have a mind to start planning for retirement and protecting your estate now and in the future, we are the best people to contact, bar none.
Dominion Guides You Through These Steps and More
When you finally retire and decide to relax during your golden years, ask yourself whether you want to do so in comfort and with full peace of mind that your goals will be achieved or if you want to scramble to get everything done? It’s the former, right?
So there's no reason not to contact Dominion right away. Dominion represents a collection of asset protection specialists who exclusively help high-net-worth individuals just like yourself.
With our assistance, you'll preserve and maintain your estate over the years to come, and you'll be able to enact any of your retirement plans or goals when the time comes.
We're the best in the business at safeguarding the wealth of high-net-worth professionals, so get in touch with one of our representatives today.
