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What Does Your Retirement Really Need to Look Like? A Conversation with John Link
Retirement planning is about much more than choosing investments or pursuing the highest possible return. It’s about understanding how all the pieces of your financial life work together—and making decisions based on the life you actually want to live.
In this episode of Money and You, Michelle talks with John Link, president of Link Financial and Link Wealth Management and author of The Importance of Everything.
John helps individuals who are approaching or living in retirement turn their savings into sustainable income plans. His approach emphasizes education, transparency, thoughtful conversations, and planning around the individual—not simply around a portfolio.
John shares his unexpected career transition from the grocery business into financial services and explains how the lessons he learned managing stores, employees, and extremely narrow profit margins continue to influence his work today. One of the most important was what he calls “four-wall responsibility”: taking ownership of everything happening within your area of responsibility.
That same principle applies to money. Avoiding a financial decision is still a decision, and understanding what you have—even when the news isn’t perfect—allows you to begin making thoughtful choices.
Michelle and John also discuss why retirement decisions cannot be made through generic rules. Advice about Social Security, taxes, retirement accounts, inheritances, and investment strategies must be considered in the context of a person’s health, family, goals, income needs, and overall financial situation.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- Why retirement planning is about more than investment returns
- Why personal responsibility is an important part of financial well-being
- How the financial industry can make people feel unnecessarily intimidated
- Why there are no “dumb questions” when discussing your money
- How your retirement vision affects the amount of income you will need
- Why it may make sense to spend more during your early “go-go” retirement years
- How lifelong money habits can follow you into retirement
- How family meetings can make estate planning easier for everyone
- Why treating beneficiaries fairly doesn’t always mean giving them identical assets
- The difference between the economy and the stock market
- How “buckets of money” can support short-, medium-, and long-term needs
- The importance of looking beyond your workplace retirement account
Planning for the Life You Want
One of the most important retirement questions has nothing to do with the market:
What do you actually want your retirement to look like?
Some people want to travel extensively. Others want to remain comfortably at home, help their children, support charitable causes, or leave a meaningful inheritance.
John explains that retirement spending often changes over time. The early years may be the best opportunity for travel and other physically active experiences. These are sometimes called the “go-go years,” followed by the “slow-go” and “no-go” years.
By creating a thoughtful income and expense plan, people may discover that they can afford to enjoy more of their money while they have the health and desire to do so.
Why Family Financial Conversations Matter
Financial planning also includes preparing the people you love.
John encourages families to talk openly about estate plans, healthcare directives, responsibilities, inheritance expectations, and where important information can be found. These conversations may feel uncomfortable, but they can prevent confusion, resentment, and additional distress during an already emotional time.
Creating Different Buckets for Different Needs
Rather than treating every dollar the same way, John discusses creating separate “buckets of money” for different time periods and purposes.
Money needed for today’s expenses should not necessarily be handled the same way as money that may not be needed for another five, ten, or twenty years. Separating immediate spending, future income, and longer-term growth can help people avoid relying on volatile investments for current living expenses.
Taxes also need to be considered. The amount shown in a tax-deferred retirement account is not necessarily the amount available to spend because taxes may be owed when the money is withdrawn.
This is why retirement planning involves not only asset allocation—how money is invested—but also asset location, or where different types of investments are held.
About John Link
John Link is president of Link Financial and Link Wealth Management and a fiduciary investment advisor representative with Royal Fund Management.
Before entering financial services, John spent 23 years in the grocery industry, becoming the youngest store manager in his company at age 23 and eventually managing millions of dollars in revenue and hundreds of employees.
For more than three decades, he has helped individuals approaching or living in retirement create sustainable lifelong income plans. His philosophy is that retirement planning should put people ahead of portfolios and emphasize transparency, education, and individual needs.
John is also the author of The Importance of Everything.
Connect With John
Website: johnlinkcompanies.com
Book: The Importance of Everything, available on Amazon
Connect With Michelle
Do you have a money or career question you’ve been hesitant to ask?
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This episode is for educational purposes only and should not be considered individualized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.
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The content shared on Money & You is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, tax, medical, or investment advice. Michelle Perkins and her guests are not responsible for any decisions made based on the information shared in this podcast. Please consult qualified professionals regarding your individual situation. Thanks for listening to Money & You.