Are You Saving Enough for Your Retirement?

How Do I Know If I’m On Track For Retirement?

Do you lose sleep wondering if your retirement savings will be enough? You're not alone. The most common concern we hear isn't about becoming wealthy—it's about avoiding becoming a burden on family in later years.

In this enlightening discussion, Senior Wealth Advisor Cody Stansell tackles the question that weighs heavily on so many minds: "How do I know if I'm on track for retirement?" Moving beyond simplistic online calculators and one-size-fits-all solutions, Cody reveals why retirement planning is deeply personal and comparable to individual calorie needs—what works for one person may be completely inadequate for another.

Discover the powerful concept of cash flow matching—identifying how much you'll need in retirement and aligning it with income sources. Cody explains how the 4-5% withdrawal rule works and why having your retirement "oxygen mask" secured before addressing other financial priorities creates a foundation for confidence. For younger listeners still decades from retirement, learn the value of the 15% savings guideline and how it provides direction amidst life's inevitable changes.

Whether retirement feels distant or drawing near, this episode delivers practical wisdom grounded in Christian values to help you build more than wealth—to build a life well-lived with purpose and peace of mind. Ready to gain clarity on your retirement journey? Visit steadfastwealthplanning.com for a complimentary consultation.

To learn more about Steadfast Wealth Planning visit:
https://www.SteadfastWealthPlanning.com
Steadfast Wealth Planning
5550 Granite Pkwy, STE 270
Plano, TX 75024
469-606-2040

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Steadfast Wealth Planning
Podcast, where faith andfinancial wisdom come together.
Hosted by Cody Stansel, ownerand senior wealth advisor, we
provide comprehensiveChristian-based financial
planning to help families,individuals and business owners
build a life they're proud tolive.
From investment management andtax planning to preparing for

(00:25):
retirement, we're here to guideyou with clarity, integrity and
purpose.
Let's get started.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Retirement planning isn't just about reaching a
number.
It's about ensuring you havefinancial confidence to enjoy
your future with peace of mind.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sophia Yvette, co-hostslash producer, back in the
studio with Cody Stansel, SeniorWealth Advisor for Steadfast
Wealth Planning.
Cody, how's it going today?

Speaker 3 (01:00):
Hey, sophia, I am doing well.
How are you doing?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
I'm also doing well, Cody.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Good, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
It's a question most of us think about from time to
time.
How do I know if I'm on trackfor retirement?

Speaker 3 (01:16):
Yeah, great question.
It's actually probably the mostpopular question that we
receive from folks because it'sdefinitely on everyone's top of
mind.
I don't think I've ever had aclient say, cody, my goal is to
be rich one day.
But a lot of them do say I justdon't want to be poor, right, I
don't want to be a burden on mychildren financially down the

(01:38):
road, and so that's a.
It's a big topic for a lot offolks.
The first way is I would cautiona lot of folks to from just
googling.
I would caution a lot of folksfrom just Googling this question
and you get very genericanswers, online calculators and
some of those things.
I know it was a million dollarsworth enough or less more.
It's kind of like calories in aday.

(01:58):
Everyone's a little bitdifferent.
Right, the standard 2000calories a day.
But the real answer is well,are you tall, are you short, are
you active, are you not?
What's your family history?
You know there's a lot thatgoes into it.
So first thing I do is hesitateon Googling a question like
this and trying to find.
So I would obviously startmeeting with a competent

(02:19):
financial planner.
I think it's a great first stepto see if you're on track for
retirement?
When you meet with our team,this is the first question we
ask.
I make the analogy of kind oflike if you're on an airplane
and the oxygen masks come down.
They always tell you to putyours on before helping someone
around you.
Retirement that particulartopic is that oxygen mask.
For us, we want to make sureyou're on track for retirement

(02:42):
before we can move on to some ofthese other goals or other
financial action items that youhave of saving for your child's
college or helping your parentwith their financial journey, or
life insurance or whatever theother topics are.
Making sure we check that box.
You know being on track for ourown retirements the first thing
that we want to secure.
But to practically answer yourquestion, it's all about

(03:05):
matching cash flow and what Imean by that.
We sit down and go over how muchyou want to spend in retirement
, so we talk through okay,what's your lifestyle like today
?
Is that kind of lifestyle thatyou want to live in retirement?
Your basic living needs,healthcare costs, spoiling your
grandchildren, travel, whateverit may be, whatever you want to

(03:26):
do, what does that dollar amountneed to be?
And then we back into thatnumber with any income that you
have coming in.
So what about social security?
Do you have a pension, any kindof rental property income,
part-time work, any other incomethat you have coming in?
And then what's the deficit?
Right, if we need $10,000 a yearand we have $5,000 coming in,

(03:47):
where are we going to find thatother $5,000?
That's where we your bucket ofmoney, your IRA, your 401k, your
brokerage investment account.
We use a standard of four to 5%withdrawal rule from that
bucket of money.
So an example if you have amillion dollars invested, we can
securely send you 40 to $50,000per year to make up that

(04:10):
difference, right?
Especially for folks that maybeare in their 40s or early 50s
and retirement still a decadeplus and they don't really know
what kind of lifestyle they'regoing to live down the road.
That's how we can back intothose numbers to know how much
to save so that our bucket ofmoney is big enough to provide
this kind of income.
Right, and just like the calorieanalogy that I used earlier,

(04:34):
that 4% to 5% withdrawal rule isobviously a little bit
different for every folk, right?
If some people want to leave alegacy to their kids, well, they
may need to withdraw a littlebit less than that, so that
their portfolio keeps growing.
But I have a lot of folks thatsay you know, I've saved this
money.
I worked hard.
This is for my spouse and I and, yes, if there's any leftover

(04:56):
for my children, great, but ifnot, sorry, you know, then you
could withdraw a little bit morebecause your existing balance
isn't as much of a need.
So it really really does depend.
But a big one too is we usesoftware.
I'm a visual learner, so evenif someone just tells me
something, it's less impactfulthan showing me something.
So we use software on a screenthat says you know, here you are

(05:19):
today, here's where you want toget to.
And then, okay, how do we getthere?
How much do we need to save?
How much do we need to earnwith our investments?
How can we get there with thosefactors?
Then the next part is okay, ifwe're saving enough for
retirement, all looks good.
Then what could derail thisretirement plan?
What could go wrong?

(05:39):
That makes us off track?
Then we go through what if thishappens?
What if this happens?
What if one of us gets sick?
What if we end up needing tospend more than we originally
thought?
There's a lot of differentscenarios that we have to go
into at that time, right.
And then obviously, there's atax factor.
Cody, we're on track forretirement, we have enough, but

(06:01):
what's the best way taxes wiseto go about this?
Which account do we need towithdraw from which?
Should we be saving in a Roth401k?
Should we be saving in atraditional 401k?
All those questions that wehave.
So as you approach retirement,it gets much more concise on
these details and these numbers.

(06:22):
The younger you are 30s, 40s,early 50s I make this joke all
the time.
I know the Lord is looking down, chuckling that we're trying to
forecast 20 years in the future, like any one of us know.
You know, but financial plannerplanner is in my title, so we
have to have a plan.
But for those folks, if you're40 years old and you just don't

(06:44):
know if you're saving enough, weuse the 15%.
You know.
Just save at least 15% of yourincome into an account.
You know, even if you have 20,30 years to go and life will
definitely change on you.
So save that amount.
And as you approach retirement,we can get much more detailed
with these details and numbers.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
Wow.
And one final question for youtoday, cody what are the tax
implications of withdrawing fromdifferent retirement accounts?

Speaker 3 (07:15):
tax implications of withdrawing from different
retirement accounts?
Yes, absolutely so.
There are three buckets ofmoney, if you will, that the IRS
allows you to have.
There's the traditional 401kand IRA right, you contributed
money to that account typeduring your working years.
It grows and grows.
You take any of thosedistributions from that account.

(07:36):
You'll just pay regular incometax on them, right?
So if you take out $20,000 froma traditional IRA or a
traditional 401k, we send you a1099 tax document that you have
to report that $20,000 of income.
And then there's the Rothaccount right?
That's the second account type,kind of the opposite of the

(07:56):
traditional IRA.
You put money into a Roth 401k,a Roth IRA no tax benefit today
during your working years, butthat money grows and grows and
grows tax-free and you can takeit out in retirement tax-free.
And then the third bucket thatnot a lot of people know about
it's a really powerful tool isjust a brokerage account, right?

(08:20):
Bucket that not a lot of peopleknow about it's a really
powerful tool is just abrokerage account.
It's not a retirement account,but it offers ultimate
flexibility.
You can touch it when you're 40, when you're 50, you don't have
to wait until retirement likesome of these other account
types are, and it's just acapital gain tax consequence.
So an example you invest$100,000, it grows to $150,000.

(08:40):
You say, oh, cody, sell all$150,000.
I need that money.
You just owe capital gains taxon that $50,000 of growth.
In a perfect world, all of yourmoney is in a Roth bucket,
tax-free, forever.
You never have to worry aboutUncle Sam and the IRS.
That's usually a littleunrealistic for folks.
So having some spread acrossthose three buckets, so when you

(09:04):
are retired and you need moneyfrom your portfolio, it really
allows us to look at the taxcode of what's the tax code this
current year.
Okay, let's send you thisportion from your traditional
IRA, let's send you this portionfrom the Roth IRA and we can
really try to gain the tax codethe best way we can.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
Love it, Cody.
Thank you so much for thosehelpful insights.
Have a wonderful rest of yourday and we'll catch you on the
next episode.

Speaker 3 (09:30):
You too, thanks, sophia.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
Thanks for joining us on the Steadfast Wealth
Planning Podcast.
Ready to take the next step inyour financial journey, visit
steadfastwealthplanningcom for acomplimentary consultation or
call 469-606-2040.
Smart planning, christianvalues, a life well lived.
We'll see you next time.