The BCR Plan to Succeed℠: Your Roadmap to Financial Success

When you think about retirement, what do you envision? For most people, gone are the days of commuting and images of a rocking chair. Instead, many equate retirement with healthy, active, independent lifestyles. Think about this: With medical advances and rising longevity, retirement could last 30 years or more for one or both spouses! 

The question to ask yourself is, are you retirement-ready to sustain a 30+ year retirement? 

As Birmingham retirement planning specialists, BCR Wealth Strategies uses a proprietary process called BCR Plan to Succeed℠ to construct comprehensive retirement plans for affluent couples and individuals. 

Whether you’re planning to retire soon or are recently retired, our sophisticated planning serves as a financial roadmap that guides you through the various twists and turns you may experience during decades of retirement. 

 

Read our latest Quick Guide “Wealth Management in Birmingham, AL: Strategies for Financial Success”

 

In today’s blog, we’ll look at how the BCR Plan to Succeed℠ process works and how it may benefit you as you either plan for retirement in the next few years or have already retired.

Why Do I Need the BCR Plan to Succeed℠? 

As your wealth increases, so does the complexity of managing your financial planning and investable assets on a day-to-day basis. A high percentage of our clients rely on us to take on that role so they can focus on what is most important to them: family, friends, careers, and giving back to their communities.

With that said, you still need an easy-to-access client portal where you can see all of your investments in one place and optimize a coordinated solution. There’s nothing worse than having to log in to multiple websites to track your investments – not to mention the risk of duplicated investments and fees. 

Think of the BCR Plan to Succeed℠ as your one-stop shop for all your wealth management needs. Our proprietary process is designed to help you manage your finances and pursue your most important financial goals.

How does the BCR Plan to Succeed Process work?

A key feature of the BCR Plan to Succeed℠ process is the use of technology, which is becoming more important in today’s very automated world. Here are a few ways that the Plan to Succeed process leverages technology to keep your plan up to date:

  • Investment account aggregation: Do you struggle with having multiple logins for various investment accounts?  We solve this by giving you a single login that displays all your investment account-related information in one place.
  • Consolidated view: A financial plan should not be a static document. Our platform provides you with up-to-date data so that together, we can make smart, objective adjustments to your plan and strategy, including possible adjustments to your income, assets, liabilities, budgets, spending, and other financial considerations,
  • Accessibility: We walk you through easy-to-understand analysis and projections based on your goal cash flow. We can make adjustments in real-time to show you different scenarios to help guide your decision-making process.

Identifying Your Financial Goals in Retirement

Identifying and documenting your financial goals as you transition from employment to retirement is an important part of your retirement planning process. The BCR Plan to Succeed℠ process helps maintain your desired lifestyle and financial security throughout retirement.

Having clearly defined goals provides a roadmap for your retirement. They help you focus on what’s important, whether maintaining your current lifestyle, traveling, or funding your grandchildren’s education. This clarity helps you make informed spending, saving, and investing decisions.

Documenting your goals allows you to create a strategy and timing that addresses all your expected expenses and sources of income, helping to prevent the risk of a reduced lifestyle outliving your assets.

For example, suppose you and your spouse love to travel and want to spend $50,000 a year on trips. By documenting this as a goal, you can allocate a portion of your retirement income to a travel fund. This way, you know exactly how much you need to save and invest to make these adventures possible without affecting your day-to-day standard of living for 30 years or more.

Why Cash Flow Planning Matters

Cash flow planning is crucial if you are nearing retirement or have already retired, especially if you have $1 million or more in assets and expect to spend over 30 years in retirement. 

At the end of the day, you need to make sure your money lasts as long as you do. Cash flow planning can assist with this. Here’s why:

  1. Suppose you plan for a 30-plus-year retirement. You need a strategy to avoid outliving your income and savings. Cash flow planning helps map out how your income and expenses will evolve, ensuring your nest egg can support you throughout your golden years (both spouses).
  2. During a long retirement, your expenses and cost of living may change monthly. Cash flow planning accounts for inflation and unexpected costs, helping you adjust your spending and withdrawals as needed.

Here are two examples of how cash flow planning can assist you:

1. Creating a Withdrawal Strategy:

Our focus is on understanding your specific needs regarding withdrawal rates rather than solely on a percentage of your portfolio or assets. Many of our clients aim to maximize what they leave to their loved ones after they pass, so their primary goal is not about how much they can spend during their lifetime.

Cash flow planning will show how this withdrawal rate, plus investment growth minus inflation, can impact your net savings over longer periods. Adjusting withdrawals based on market performance helps you maintain a more stable foundation of income – no cutbacks necessary. 

2. Budgeting for Healthcare:

Healthcare costs are rising rapidly and can be very unpredictable. Cash flow planning helps you estimate these expenses and set aside some of your income or earnings. 

For instance, if you expect to spend $1,000 monthly on healthcare over 30 years, your plan would ensure this amount is accounted for without depleting your other assets.

Get to Know BCR Wealth Strategies

We’re not like many other financial advisory firms. As a fee-only financial fiduciary, we’re not incentivized to sell expensive financial products that might not be the right fit for you.

We focus on providing personalized, one-of-a-kind financial planning and investment solutions. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all strategies; each client has unique characteristics.

Our team includes CFP® professionals and CPAs who use their knowledge and experience to help you maximize your after-tax returns.

When you partner with BCR Wealth Strategies and use our BCR Plan to Succeed℠, you’ll have a financial roadmap that you can use throughout all phases of your financial journey. 

Connect with us to learn more about the BCR Plan to Succeed℠ process.

Jake Drum

Jake Drum

Jake Drum CPA is a Financial Planner with BCR Wealth Strategies.