The uncertainty of Retirement Planning
As suggested by its title, the article advocates that investors work backward. They should begin their plans upon entering the workforce, by specifying their desired income during retirement. Once that is known, and an asset allocation is specified, the required contribution rate can be calculated. This process is aspirational. That is, while Javier's model is fixed, providing investment returns, contribution amounts, and withdrawal rates with assurance, investors enjoy no such confidence. As young adults, they know neither what the financial markets will bring nor (yet) what income will meet their retirement needs. Their lives lie ahead of them. The point of the paper is to change the investor's mindset. Javier wishes to combat the standard practice of keeping one's head down, contributing to retirement accounts according to perceived ability, then looking up as retirement approaches and wondering what the accumulated assets will be able to afford. Better to know th...