Big Retirement Matters changes in July and 2022
Change must be embraced, am I right? If not, life becomes a “struggle bus” and nothing seems enjoyable. It’s the same in business, and a scenario that Retirement Matters is embracing as well across various fronts.
We are 100% open, with no mask requirements. Zoom meetings will be available, but we can't wait to see everyone's faces again!
As of July 1, our location will be changing:
The office complex that Retirement Matters currently uses is being knocked down to make way for a car dealership, and we are moving across town to a cute location in Barrington. With that location change, comes a chance to design a non-traditional financial planning office. Instead of the large conference room you’ve become accustomed to, we’ll be introducing a lounge feel with a couch and comfortable seating. That will be for our informal and planning focused discussions where not much paperwork is needed. We’ll be able to use a flat-screen TV to facilitate discussions, but the goal is to make the space comfortable for big, life discussions. There will be an adjoined office with a farmhouse table to spread out papers and have more formal discussions. We’ll have a beverage station available – hosting anything from iced coffee, bottled water, soda, and even bourbon to celebrate the important life milestones and accomplishments. At your next meeting, we look forward to hosting you.
Our new address will be 777 N. Lake Zurich Road, Suite 125D, Barrington, IL 60010.
There are some services tweaks happening July 1st, and into 2022:
- The cost of a comprehensive financial plan is being dropped from $5,000 to $4,000. Additionally, by popular demand, we’ll be introducing a financial plan review service. This allows previous clients to get an update on their financial plan if they’ve gone a couple of years without getting a refresh. As this will be less involved than a full plan, the cost for this will be $2,500.
- Our Wealth Management services are being slightly adjusted. This service is mostly for retired clients as Retirement Matters manages their entire portfolio as well as providing ongoing tax services. Where the cost of this service was 1% of the managed portfolio and then stopped when the portfolio reached $3 million, we’ll now be adding a 0.5% cost for all assets over $3 million. As we near our capacity of clients and look to the overall wealth management space to determine pricing trends, this adjustment will be appropriate for clients and the company.
- Some clients are still on an old financial planning service model where they pay a monthly fee for ongoing access and annual planning meetings. This service will be phased out in January 2022 as we streamline the services that are offered. These clients can move over to the $2,500 one-time review package (if they are not retired) and get similar services for a lower price.
You may have noticed that the price of everyday items is increasing, and if you’re building or renovating a home, the price of lumber has skyrocketed. Along with this, we’ve experienced a huge influx of government money into our economy throughout the last 18 months. These factors, along with low interest rates for the last decade, may cause inflation to rise and stay at elevated levels.
As a result, clients who have their portfolios managed by Retirement Matters will have some adjustments made to alleviate potential downsides of an environment with rising inflation. In making these changes, tax implications will be considered but it may generate some tax consequences which we will discuss with each client individually.
If you’d like more details about any of these changes, please let me know.