What are your biggest hopes and dreams for your retirement years?
That’s how a nationally recognized elder care attorney named Rajiv Nagaich began a ground-breaking article published in the journal of the American Bar Association. The article first appeared four years ago, and it marked the first time many of the ABA’s members would have encountered the term “LifePlanning.”
Rajiv’s revolutionary approach to thinking about and planning for one’s retirement years completely upended some of the traditional notions of estate planning that had been the industry standard for decades. The article also marked Rajiv as one of the pioneering voices advocating for a new approach to both legal and financial planning. The ensuing years since the article’s publication have only served to enhance that reputation.
Old School is Gradually Giving Way to Holistic Planning
While the old school of thought still dominates the world of estate planning, it appears many are coming around to embrace Rajiv’s simple message: There has to be a better way. This week on the Blog, as we focus on the two approaches to planning, it seemed an appropriate opportunity to review Rajiv’s 2022 article as a clear statement in favor of a more holistic planning approach.
We’ve edited and paraphrased Rajiv’s article due to space restrictions. If you want to read the original, and we encourage you to do so, you’ll find it here.
People Planning for Retirement Often Fear the Future
“What are your biggest hopes and dreams for your retirement years?” Rajiv begins. “I’ve asked a variation of this questions thousands of times—on stage at seminars, on camera at webinars, on the radio, and on television.”
But while he loves to hear from his audience about all the fun things they plan to do in their retirement years, Rajiv tells us that this isn’t what interests him most.
“Their excitement isn’t the reason they signed up to hear me speak,” he writes. “They signed up because they’re afraid.”
Most People are Reluctant to Confront Tough Issues of Aging
It’s rare, Rajiv says, for us to discuss what we want to avoid in retirement.
“Almost no one focuses on this because it means confronting realities that most Americans would rather not talk about, things like declining health, loss of control, frailty, and death,” he writes.
Tens of thousands of people in Rajiv’s audience have heard him ask the question What do you fear most about retirement? over and over again for twenty years, and the answer often boils down to three things: “They are afraid they will end up in a nursing home. They are afraid they will outlive their money. And they are afraid they will be a burden on their family.”
Research Suggests These Fears are Often Justified
Sadly, researchers say that these fears are not unfounded.
“Though most Americans hope to be able to live out their lives in their own home, the reality is that less than 30 percent will be able to do so,” Rajiv writes. “There’s a 70 percent chance that your failing health will land you in an institutional care setting, a place almost no one wants to end up.”
That’s a 69 percent chance that you’ll end up in the position that you most want to avoid, he tells us. And that means that many people will face losing their assets to covering their long-term care, a reality most people don’t think to prepare for.
Typical Retirement Planning Based on False Assumptions
“The way we define success in retirement is a marketing bait-and-switch scheme,” Rajiv writes. “Those photoshopped images of older people living the dream as depicted in the glossy retirement planning brochures don’t paint an accurate picture.”
Modern retirement planning—as it’s marketed to us all—assumes that you’ll live a healthy and active life, full of adventure and joy, and then pass away in your sleep.
“Unfortunately, that’s not how it will go for most of us,” Rajiv states. “Most of us will spend some (possibly many) of our retirement years dealing with health problems that gradually increase our dependence on others. A few lucky people will die in their sleep. For the rest of us, retirement will be a long, slow, downward skid toward an undignified end: Broke. A burden. Stuck in a nursing home.”
Typical Planning Fails to Account for Future Frailty, Declining Health
Because of this, Rajiv calls modern retirement planning “a tragedy”—we aren’t planning for the things that really matter, like the reality of illness, or getting frail as we age, even though the vast majority of us will experience these things in our later years.
“If success in retirement is pitched as having the money to live your best life when you’re healthy, shouldn’t that best life include the years you spend in failing health?” he asks. “Wouldn’t you want to have control over where you live, how your affairs are managed, how your money is used, and how your needs impact the lives of your loved ones even as your independence is waning?”
Preserving Housing Choice, Financial Stability, Family Relationships
The sign of a successful plan, says Rajiv, is the ability to choose where you live, even if your health fails. A related goal is to protect your nest-egg from unplanned costs.
“You should be able to grow old, sick, and frail without becoming a burden on your family while you’re alive, or a source of conflict and disorder when you’re gone,” he writes.
Why do so few of us accomplish this? Rajiv outlines the major reasons.
Traditional Approach Focuses Exclusively on Financial Planning
First of all, Rajiv explains that the traditional magic bullet for retirement success is money, and lots of it.
“Conventional wisdom says that if you have a paid-for home and a hefty nest egg by the time retirement rolls around, you should be okay,” he writes. “Social Security will provide additional monthly income. Maybe you even have a long-term care insurance policy to foot the bill for future long-term care costs.”
But fewer Americans do any special planning for their housing after they retirement, aside from dreaming of moving to sunnier climates, despite three quarters of Americans assuming that they’ll age comfortably in place at the home of their choosing. They don’t think about enrolling in Medicare, either, or what legal planning for their estate will look like.
And still, Rajiv notes, “Will this planning keep you from being forced into a nursing home, going broke, or becoming a burden when your health fails? Probably not.”
One Health Crisis is All It Takes for Plans to Unravel
[Editor’s Note: Rajiv’s original article included a compelling tale of an imaginary couple named Frank and Susie. We lack the space to include more of the details, but the story, while fictional, is rooted in fact. An unanticipated health crisis – Susie having a debilitating stroke – led to a cascade of other events that quickly embroiled her entire family in a swirl of impossible choices. Let’s pick up the conclusion of the story.]
Susie’s physical limitations were so severe that it became impossible for her to go home—the doorways were too narrow for her walker, and she couldn’t use the stairs. “What no one realizes just yet is that Susie’s housing problem will have to be solved by her family, the very people she vowed never to burden,” Rajiv writes.
And financially, Rajiv explains, the stroke has also left the family in a lurch that will quickly spiral out of control: “Despite having a nest egg for retirement, Susie’s health problem may bankrupt the family. One of Susie’s friends hears about what happened and suggests she see an elder law attorney to get specialize legal help to protect assets from the high cost of long-term care. Susie now has a legal problem.”
Family is Caught Up in an Unanticipated Caregiving Crisis
In the end, her husband Frank—completely overwhelmed—needed to bring the couple’s adult children into the situation, asking for their help in caring for Susie. But the children were unaware of the severity of the problem and are unprepared to make the decisions—financial, legal, and caregiving-related—they suddenly need to make.
“This issue has now become a burden to the family, a scenario Frank and Susie wanted to avoid at all costs,” Rajiv concludes. “As you can see, one health problem is all it takes to unravel your carefully laid retirement plans.”
The Holistic Approach, LifePlanning, is A Better Way to Plan
This brings us to Rajiv’s holistic alternative to traditional retirement planning: LifePlanning.
“[LifePlanning] starts by thinking differently about the planning process,” Rajiv explains. “You learn what goals to set, how to set them, and when to start planning. Instead of assuming that your financial planner, estate planner, and other professionals are coordinating their efforts (they aren’t), you learn how to hold them to a higher standard while stepping confidently into the role of project manager of your retirement plan.”
Health and Housing: Intentional Choices to Ensure Future Success
In traditional retirement planning, “health” is just signing up for Medicare and then going to the doctor when you get sick.
“LifePlanning is about developing healthy habits and using your health insurance to focus on preventative care so you can prolong your years of healthy independence, possibly eliminating the need for expensive long-term care,” Rajiv writes.
And planning for housing in LifePlanning leaves nothing to chance, giving you “a way to turn that hope into action by finding a housing option that works for you while eliminating the need to move to another setting or into an institution when your health fails.”
Finance and Legal: Ensuring That Your Advisors Work in Tandem
Financially, planning with LifePlanning isn’t just about managing a nest egg, says Rajiv: “It’s about having the information you need to make important decisions about how you spend your money. The goal of LifePlanning is for you to be able to pay for housing, care, and services during incapacity without going broke, no matter what size your portfolio.”
And legal planning in your retirement years isn’t just about focusing on your death. Rajiv explains, “The legal planning you do in a LifePlan protects your quality of life no matter what happens with your health. It also ensures that your needs will not make you a burden on those you name as fiduciaries in your legal documents.”
Family: Minimizing the Caregiving Burden on Those You Love
Finally, Rajiv recognizes that aging is—and should be—a family affair. The people closest to you will become more involved in your life as you age, and LifePlanning builds those communication tools into the process, giving your family clearer guidance without creating more problems and burdens.
Rajiv concludes: “Traditional retirement planning gives you a 70 percent chance of going broke, becoming a burden, and ending up in institutional care. LifePlanning give you a better than 80 percent chance of living the kind of life you want—until the end.”
Rajiv Nagaich – Your Retirement Planning Coach and Guide
Rajiv Nagaich’s newest program on PBS, called Designing Your Ideal Future, is bringing Rajiv’s powerful message to Americans from coast to coast. This engaging and challenging PBS show is prompting thousands to take a fresh look at the type of planning that will help them succeed in retirement.
In this one-hour PBS special, Rajiv Nagaich takes viewers step-by-step through the principles of creating a retirement plan that truly supports the life you want to live. Instead of generic check-the-box paperwork, Rajiv reveals how to infuse your perspective — your values, goals, and priorities — into every legal document and life plan component so your plan becomes a living system for your future.
Designing Your Ideal Future includes insights from real-world planning examples and a live Q&A with Rajiv Nagaich that answers viewer questions about retirement planning, legal readiness, and family communication. It’s perfect for anyone approaching retirement, currently retired, or responsible for a loved one’s future care — and for those who want a clear, effective approach to planning that prioritizes personal choice and quality of life.
What About You?
You’ve heard Rajiv say it repeatedly: 70 percent of retirement plans will fail. If you know someone whose retirement turned into a nightmare when they were forced into a nursing home, went broke paying for care, or became a burden to their families – and you want to make sure it doesn’t happen to you – then these materials are your key to retirement success.
Visit your local PBS station’s schedule to find airtimes and learn how to access companion resources — including a free Legal Readiness Quiz and tools to help build your complete LifePlanning system.
Don’t remain among the millions of Americans sleepwalking their way into a retirement they never wanted. Instead, your retirement can be the exciting and fulfilling life you’ve always hoped it would be. Start by watching, reading and sharing Rajiv’s important message.
And remember, Age On, everyone!
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