What The Wealth Retirement Podcast

"We're Tired of All the Statistics — You're Not Hearing Us" (115)

• Jonathan Bednar II, CFP • Episode 115

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A portfolio can grow while confidence shrinks—especially when every question gets answered with a statistic. In this episode I unpack a real case study of a retired couple who were told for 16 years to stay “70/30” and not touch their income because actuarial tables said they might live to 95.

The returns looked fine on paper, but the plan didn’t feel like their life. So we rebuilt the conversation from the ground up: listen first, translate goals into cash flow, then design a structure that buys time and reduces stress.

We walk through a simple, durable bucket strategy anchored by a five-year income “war chest” funded with fixed income and implemented through a bond ladder. When markets wobble, that ladder matures on schedule, keeping monthly checks uninterrupted and avoiding forced equity sales. With near-term income secured, we show how to responsibly raise their retirement paycheck by a few hundred dollars and create a path to adjust upward as the portfolio grows. It’s a shift from product labels to lived experience—less jargon, more clarity about how money supports everyday choices.

We also explain why weekly market commentary can amplify anxiety, and how reframing communication around the psychology of money helps clients feel calm, confident, and in control. If you’ve ever wondered whether your retirement plan is built around your goals or someone else’s template, this story offers a blueprint for change: align values, secure cash needs, and let time do its work. Subscribe for more practical strategies, share this with someone stuck in “set-and-forget” mode, and leave a review to tell us what would make you feel more confident about your retirement.

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If you or someone you care about could use the help of a financial advisor and sees the value in establishing a financial plan, please reach out to me.

Thanks for Listening!

Jonathan

SPEAKER_00:

For 16 years with one of the largest RIAs in the country, a retired couple had came to us and their accounts had done well, but they were getting more concerned about taking risk off the table, diversifying. They wanted to increase their income slightly. And the problem was every time they asked this firm about raising their income or about diversifying or reducing risk, they were told, actually, you'll live to 95, so you can't. And after 16 years, that answer just left them feeling stuck and frustrated. I'm Jonathan Bedner. Welcome to the What the Wealth Retirement Podcast. Today we're going to talk about this real life case study where you know this couple came in after spending a long time, almost two decades, at least a decade and a half, with this large national RIA, and they felt stuck, they felt frustrated. And this firm had actually done well for them. I told them that they knew that the performance had done well. Where this other firm failed was having empathy, was having, you know, conversation on a one-on-one level. And instead, they continued to talk down to these people. You're gonna live to 95, but according to the actuarial tables. You can't do that because that's not a safe withdrawal rate. You can't do this, you can't diversify, you're you're in a 70-30, you need to be in a 70-30. He one of the things that this couple said to me was Yo, they keep telling us we're in a 70-30, you're in a 70-30, you're in a 70-30. These clients don't even know what a 70-30 is. Really. I mean, obviously they know that means 70% equities, 30% fixed income. But what does it really mean? And and I can tell that's what they were struggling with because they were told we want to diversify, we want to take risk off the table. And really, 7030 is not that aggressive. You know, they have they are diversified. You know, their portfolio has 72 positions, which I mean that's ridiculous in this day and age, but that's that's for another podcast. 16 years at one of the largest RAs, and it comes down to empathy. The truth is, retirement isn't just about how long you'll live on paper. It doesn't, it's not only about are you gonna live to 90 or 93 or 96 or 100, it's about how confident you are in living your life today as well. So, how do we marry those two concepts together? And you know, we we do want to make sure that as long as you have life, you have money. But we also want you to make sure that you you have confidence in your life, your spending, and you're thriving today. So here's how we helped. Here's how you know our firm, Paradigm Wealth Partners, helped. We are not a large national RIA, we are a small business, family-owned, and this is how we helped. The very first thing we did was we listened. We understood their concerns and what mattered most to them. We took notes, we had we asked questions, we asked more questions, and took a lot of time to understand really what was most important. Uh from there, we started to show them how their retirement paycheck could could potentially increase over time. They have a million-dollar portfolio, they were taking uh thirty eight hundred dollars a month, they needed to take or wanted to take a little bit more, not extravagantly more, two to two to four hundred dollars, five hundred dollars more. Um and their account had grown well, we wanted to show them that over time we should also be able to increase their retirement paycheck as their account grows, their income can too if it's planned correctly. So we spent valuable time kind of walking through how that works, what that looks like. And the third thing we did was we simply created a bucket strategy for them. Instead of saying you're in a 70-30, you're in a 70-30, you're in a 70-30, the money's gotta last till 95. We built this custom bucket strategy. Very, very simple. Part of this bucket strategy includes a five-year war chest. This five-year war chest is their income set aside for the next five years. So it doesn't matter what the market does, they they know their lifestyle is for secure for the next five years. Gotta be careful on how I say secure. Compliance may not like that. Their lifestyle is uninterrupted for the next five years. I continue to get them their same income. Now, that five-year war chest is invested. We have it invested in fixed income, earning, you know, 4% plus or minus. I don't know what the exact rate is, um, but uh around 4%. And so this is a way for me to tell them that if if we have market turbulence, if we get another 10, 15, 20 percent, you know, pullback in the market, I can look and say, Mr. and Miss Client, we still have 48 months left or 56 months left or 32 months left of your income. That gives us time to let this market rebound. And and once we explained that five-year work chest, and we do this using a bond ladder. I've I've done a podcast, a prior episode on a bond ladder. I'll tag it here in the show notes for you. But by creating this bond ladder, we have money that matures every year. As that money matures, that provides them their fixed income for that year. This is a very simple strategy, but once I said it, the light bulbs went off. Like it it just clicked. And from there, we're able to de-escalate and say, Great, I'm comfortable, I get it, I am diversified. We've just explained it in a way that's that's more human, it's more understanding, it's more compassionate, that's not just being talked down to, which is the way they were at their prior firm. The other thing that that they got at this prior firm that caused a lot of anxiousness are these these weekly market commentaries and performance updates. And while that sounds helpful on the surface, it caused more stress and anxiety. You're not you're not a a market expert, you're not a financial advisor, you're not a CPA, you're not a CFA, you're not any of these financial jargony terms. You're just a normal person who wants to know that they can successfully and comfortably live in retirement. And so when you're getting pounded weekly with these market updates and these communications, you don't fully know how to interpret them. You don't, you know, you can read them, but you don't really understand them. And so it becomes a source of increased stress, it becomes a source of increased anxiety. And so, you know, as they've left this old firm and joined us, they've closed the chapter to all those performance updates. And instead, our communication is focused on the psychology of money, helping clients feel calm and confident and in control. And the responses that I get from this couple when we send out our emails is one of, you know, thank you. This makes tons of sense. This is the best thing you've written. You know, we we love getting these. We would, you know, we're gonna share this with our friends and family. And so, you know, people don't do that with market performance and market commentary. They don't, it doesn't, it doesn't always exude confidence. And so our communication is focused on making sure that you have, you know, that confidence with your retirement, with your financial plans. This is, you know, kind of a real life short case study on on how we're helping people today in 2025, uh, and have for the past, you know, 25 years at our firm. 2026 will be our our you know, we'll be celebrating 2025 years as an independent financial advising firm, helping families and individuals and people just like this be comfortable and confident in their retirement. And retirement isn't about actuarial tables or market updates, it's about creating a plan that supports the life you want to live, your dreams, and mirroring your core values with your dreams so you have that purposeful and fulfilling retirement. If you're wondering whether retirement income could be more flexible or if your plan matches your goals, we'd love to have that conversation. You can schedule a consultation through the link below in the show notes. Be confident in your retirement. Have a wonderful day. Thanks for joining me on another episode of What the Wealth. If you enjoyed the episode today, smash that subscribe button. It helps me more than you think. Also, if you found this episode insightful and a light bulb went off, share it. Your friend, Aunt Judy, the random guy in the office who's always talking about investments. Wealth isn't about just the chip chain. It's about our choices, chances, and changing our financial futures. The information in this podcast is informational and general in nature and does not take into consideration the listener's personal circumstances. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for specific in financial, legal, or tax advice. You should consult the approved qualified professional prior to making a final decision. Security is offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA SIPC. Paradigm Wealth Partners is the other business name for Independent Advisor Alliance. Investment Advice offered through Independent Advisor Alliance, a registered investment advisor, Independent Advisor Alliance, and Paradigm Wealth Partners are separate entities for LPL Financial.