Disclosure

Peterson Wealth Advisors is a registered investment adviser. This video is for educational purposes only and should not be considered individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

 

For many couples approaching retirement, reaching $2 million in savings feels like crossing a finish line.

After years of contributing to retirement accounts, watching investments grow, and making smart financial decisions, seeing a portfolio reach $2.2 million is an incredible accomplishment.

But once that milestone is reached, a different question often replaces it. Instead of asking, “Have we saved enough?”, people begin asking, “What kind of retirement will this actually allow us to enjoy?”

It’s one of the most common conversations we have with couples in their late 50s. They’re still working, but retirement is beginning to feel real.

They’re imagining more travel, more time with family, maybe serving a mission, helping with grandchildren, pursuing hobbies that have waited for years, or giving more generously. They’re no longer wondering whether retirement is possible. 

They’re wondering what retirement can look like.

At Peterson Wealth Advisors, we love that conversation because we’ve learned something important after helping retirees transition from accumulating wealth to living on it. The quality of your retirement isn’t determined simply by the size of your investment portfolio. It’s determined by how effectively that portfolio is transformed into dependable retirement income.

Let’s look at how we’d approach a hypothetical couple in their late 50s with approximately $2.2 million saved who want to understand what kind of retirement lifestyle their savings may be able to support.

Step 1: Define What “Comfortable” Means to You

Everyone wants a comfortable retirement, but very few people define what that actually means.

For one couple, comfort may mean traveling internationally every year. For another, it means spending summers at the family cabin. Some hope to purchase a second home. Others dream of serving missions, volunteering, or spending more time with grandchildren.

All of those goals influence how retirement income should be planned. And it’s why we don’t begin by talking about investments. We begin by talking about your life.

• What experiences matter most?
• How much monthly income will allow you to enjoy them?
• Which goals are non-negotiable?
• Where do you want flexibility?

Only after those questions are answered can we begin designing a retirement income strategy that’s aligned with the lifestyle you’re trying to create. After all, retirement isn’t simply about replacing your paycheck, but about creating the freedom to live intentionally.

Step 2: A Larger Portfolio Creates More Choices

Many people assume that once they’ve accumulated $2 million or more, retirement planning becomes easy. In reality, the opposite is often true.

Greater financial resources usually create greater flexibility, and with that comes more decisions.

• Should you retire at 60?
• Or continue working until 65?
• Should you begin Social Security early, or delay benefits?
• Would Roth conversions reduce future taxes?
• Should you spend more freely during the early years of retirement while you’re healthiest?
• How much should you reserve for future healthcare expenses?
• How should charitable giving fit into your overall retirement plan?
• Should your children inherit retirement accounts, Roth assets, or taxable investments?

None of these questions are answered simply by knowing your portfolio balance, but through thoughtful planning. The goal is to use your wealth intentionally, making choices on purpose that serve your retirement life goals.

Step 3: Coordinate Every Source of Retirement Income

Even with $2.2 million in retirement savings, your retirement savings needs to be thoughtful withdrawn from different types of accounts, and coordinated with other income sources like Social Security. Traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, Roth IRAs, taxable brokerage accounts, and pension income all have different rules and tax implications that require careful orchestration.

Rather than treating each account as a separate investment, we integrate every income source into one coordinated strategy.

The timing and order of withdrawals matters. So does tax planning and Social Security decisions. When all of those pieces work together, retirees often gain more than efficiency. They gain confidence that every part of their financial life is working to provide dependable income throughout retirement.

Step 4: Why Time Matters More Than Risk

Most investment firms organize retirement portfolios around one central question:

“How much investment risk are you comfortable taking?”

At Peterson Wealth Advisors, we believe there’s a more practical question.

“When will you actually need this money?”

The answer changes everything.

Money you’ll likely spend during the first few years of retirement shouldn’t necessarily be invested the same way as money you may not touch until your eighties. That’s the foundation of our proprietary Perennial Income Model™.

Rather than viewing your entire $2.2 million as one investment portfolio, the Perennial Income Model™ organizes retirement assets into a series of five-year income segments.

The first segment is designed to provide dependable income during the early years of retirement. Later segments have much longer investment horizons. That additional time allows those investments the opportunity to pursue long-term growth before they’re eventually needed to provide retirement income.

Every dollar has a purpose. Every segment has a timeline.

Instead of asking one portfolio to accomplish every objective simultaneously, each portion of your retirement savings is assigned a specific role within your overall income strategy. That structure can help create something gives retirees the confidence that the money they need will be there when they need it, no matter how long their retirement stretches. And that confidence is priceless.

Step 5: Plan for the Retirement You Want to Live—Today and Decades From Now

One of the biggest misconceptions about retirement is that it’s a single phase of life. In reality, retirement often unfolds in stages.

The first decade may be filled with travel, hobbies, volunteer work, and making memories with children and grandchildren.

Later years may bring different priorities. Travel may slow, but healthcare expenses often increase. Time spent with family may become even more meaningful. Charitable giving, estate planning, and leaving a legacy may take on greater importance.

A successful retirement income strategy recognizes that your needs—and your priorities—will evolve over time. That’s one of the reasons we don’t simply ask how much income you need this year. We ask how your retirement may change over the next thirty or forty years.

Inflation is part of that conversation as well. The income that provides a comfortable lifestyle at age 60 likely won’t have the same purchasing power when you’re 80 or 90.

That’s why the Perennial Income Model™ isn’t designed simply to generate income today. It’s designed to organize your retirement assets so that money intended for later decades has the opportunity to remain invested longer before it’s needed, helping support your future purchasing power while earlier income segments provide dependable cash flow during the first years of retirement.

It’s a strategy built around time, and how your spending will change, not just today’s expenses.

Step 6: Retirement Confidence Isn’t About Never Worrying—It’s About Having a Plan

Even couples with substantial retirement savings can experience uncertainty. Questions like these are surprisingly common:

• “Can we spend more freely?”

• “Should we buy the vacation home?”

• “Can we help our children financially?”

• “Will we still be okay if the market drops?”

• “How much should we leave to our family?”

These aren’t investment questions, they’re confidence questions. Without a written retirement income plan, every major financial decision can feel like a guess. Many retirees end up spending less than they comfortably could because they’re afraid of making a mistake. Ironically, after working for decades to build financial security, they struggle to enjoy the very retirement they worked so hard to create!

We’ve found that confidence comes from understanding how your retirement income is expected to work.

When you know where your monthly income is expected to come from, how your investments are organized, and how your long-term goals fit into the overall plan, it becomes much easier to make financial decisions with confidence.

No investment strategy can eliminate uncertainty. But a thoughtful retirement income plan can provide clarity during periods of market volatility and help reduce the emotional decision-making that often hurts long-term investment success.

What Could Retirement Look Like for a Couple with $2.2 Million?

Every retirement is unique, but here’s how we might begin evaluating a couple in their late 50s with approximately $2.2 million in retirement savings.

The first conversation wouldn’t be about investment returns. It would be about the retirement they envision.

• Do they hope to retire in the next few years?
• How much travel do they anticipate during the first decade?
• Would they like to purchase a second home, serve a mission, or spend more time with family?
• How important is charitable giving?
• What kind of legacy do they hope to leave?

Once those goals are clearly defined, we’d coordinate every source of retirement income into one comprehensive strategy. We’d evaluate the timing of Social Security benefits to help maximize lifetime income where appropriate and identify opportunities to improve long-term tax efficiency by coordinating withdrawals from traditional retirement accounts, Roth IRAs, and taxable investments.

Rather than treating the entire portfolio as one investment account, we’d organize it using the Perennial Income Model™, assigning each portion of the portfolio a specific role based on when that money is expected to provide retirement income.

The result is a written retirement income plan designed to provide dependable monthly income today while helping preserve purchasing power and flexibility for decades to come.

Instead of wondering whether they can afford the retirement they imagine, they’d have a strategy designed to support it.

So…How Comfortable Can Retirement Be with $2.2 Million in Savings?

For many couples, very comfortable.

A thoughtfully managed portfolio of $2.2 million, combined with Social Security and a coordinated retirement income strategy, can provide tremendous flexibility and opportunities throughout retirement.

But comfort isn’t measured solely by the size of your portfolio. It’s measured by your confidence in using it.

At Peterson Wealth Advisors, we’ve found that retirees experience the greatest peace of mind when they stop asking, “Is $2.2 million enough?” and begin asking a different question:

“How can we use what we’ve built to create the retirement we’ve always imagined?”

That’s exactly what the Perennial Income Model™ was designed to help accomplish.

Retirement isn’t simply about accumulating wealth. It’s about transforming that wealth into dependable lifetime income that gives you the freedom to live generously, confidently, and intentionally.

After all, the goal isn’t just to retire with a large portfolio. It’s to enjoy the life that portfolio was meant to provide.

Let’s Talk About Turning Your Retirement Savings Into Income That Lasts a Lifetime

At Peterson Wealth Advisors, we focus 100% of our energy and expertise on helping retirees and those nearing retirement transform their savings into dependable retirement income that can last throughout retirement while empowering them to leave a meaningful legacy.

If you’re wondering what kind of retirement your savings can support, or simply want greater confidence in your retirement income strategy, we’d love to have a conversation.

Schedule your complimentary Retirement Income Strategy Session or call 801-225-0000 to learn how the Perennial Income Model™ can help you build an organized, dependable income plan designed around the retirement you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Disclosure

Peterson Wealth Advisors is a registered investment adviser. This article is provided for educational purposes only and should not be considered individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Every retirement situation is unique, and investment decisions should be based on your personal goals, financial circumstances, and risk tolerance. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results.