--- title: Retirement Roadmap Intro Chapter LP - CTA Full Download description: Planning for your retirement is so important. In our book the Retirement Road Map, we discuss the things you should look out for when protecting your wealth. image: https://retire.shpfinancial.com/hubfs/retirement%20road%20map%20.jpg --- - [(866) 746-2401](tel:8667462401) - Client Login - [SHP Portal Login](https://wealth.emaplan.com/ema/SignIn?ema%2ftp%2fshpfinancial) - [Client Black Diamond Login](https://login.bdreporting.com/Auth/SHP/SignIn) - - - [![SHP-Financial-White NEW 2026 logo Bluespring](https://retire.shpfinancial.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SHP-Financial-White%20NEW%202026%20logo%20Bluespring.png?width=200&height=73&name=SHP-Financial-White%20NEW%202026%20logo%20Bluespring.png "SHP-Financial-White NEW 2026 logo Bluespring")](https://www.shpfinancial.com) [![SHP Financial](https://retire.shpfinancial.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Shp_Financial_February2024/images/sticky.png?width=190&height=63&name=sticky.png "SHP Financial")](https://shpfinancial.com/) [![SHP Financial](https://retire.shpfinancial.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Shp_Financial_February2024/images/SHP_Logo_sticky.png?width=160&height=57&name=SHP_Logo_sticky.png "SHP Financial")](https://shpfinancial.com/) - [ABOUT](https://www.shpfinancial.com/who-are-we/) - [Meet Your Team](https://shpfinancial.com/who-we-are/) - [OUR SERVICES](https://shpfinancial.com/financial-services/) - SHP Resources - [Books & Useful Guides](https://shpfinancial.com/financial-books-guides/) - [Read Our Blog](https://shpfinancial.com/blog/) - [Retirement Road Map® Podcast](https://shpfinancial.com/podcast/) - [Contact](https://shpfinancial.com/shp-financial-contact/) - Client LOGIN - [SHP Portal Login](https://wealth.emaplan.com/ema/SignIn?ema%2ftp%2fshpfinancial) - [Client Black Diamond Login](https://bd3.bdreporting.com/Auth/SHP/SignIn) - [Logo](https://www.shpfinancial.com/) - [QUICK SEARCH](https://shpfinancial.com/quick-search/) - [ABOUT](https://www.shpfinancial.com/who-are-we/) - [WHO WE ARE](https://shpfinancial.com/who-are-we/) - [Meet Your Team](https://www.shpfinancial.com/who-are-we/#Founders) - [Charitable Partnerships](https://www.shpfinancial.com/who-are-we/#partnerships) - [InternSHP Program](https://shpfinancial.com/internshp/) - [Career Opportunities](https://shpfinancial.com/we-are-hiring/) - Why Us - [Client Testimonials](https://shpfinancial.com/testimonials/) - [FAQs](https://shpfinancial.com/frequently-asked-questions/) - [OUR SERVICES](https://shpfinancial.com/financial-services/) - [INCOME PLANNING](https://shpfinancial.com/financial-services/#one) - [INVESTMENT PLANNING](https://shpfinancial.com/financial-services/#two) - [TAX PLANNING](https://shpfinancial.com/financial-services/#three) - [HEALTHCARE PLANNING](https://shpfinancial.com/financial-services/#medicare) - [LEGACY PLANNING](https://shpfinancial.com/financial-services/#five) - [Business Owners](https://shpfinancial.com/business-owners-succession/) - [Empowering Women in Retirement](https://shpfinancial.com/empowering-women-in-retirement/) - [WORKSHOPS/WEBINARS](https://shpfinancial.com/workshops/) - [In-Person Events](https://shpfinancial.com/workshops/#events) - [Webinars](https://shpfinancial.com/workshops/#webinars) - [On-Demand Webinars](https://shpfinancial.com/workshops/#ondemand) - SHP LIBRARY - [Books & Useful Guides](https://shpfinancial.com/financial-books-guides/) - [Leaving a Legacy](https://shpfinancial.com/nextgen/) - [Important Birthdays Over 50](https://shpfinancial.com/important-birthdays-over-50/) - [Retirement Road Map® Educational Courses](https://shpfinancial.com/retirement-roadmap-educational-courses/) - [Read Our Blog](https://shpfinancial.com/blog/) - MEDIA - [Retirement Road Map® Podcast](https://shpfinancial.com/podcast/) - [Appearances, Articles and Interviews](https://shpfinancial.com/financial-appearances-articles-interviews/) - [Industry Accolades](https://www.shpfinancial.com/financial-appearances-articles-interviews/#accolades) - [Contact](https://shpfinancial.com/shp-financial-contact/) - Client LOGIN - [SHP Portal Login](https://wealth.emaplan.com/ema/SignIn?ema%2ftp%2fshpfinancial) - [Client Black Diamond Login](https://bd3.bdreporting.com/Auth/SHP/SignIn) [![Hatch Landing](https://retire.shpfinancial.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/@marketplace/GiantFocal/Hatch_Landing/images/placeholder/hatch-landing.svg)](https://www.giantfocal.com/hatch-landing) © 2026 All rights reserved. Developed by [GiantFocal](https://www.giantfocal.com/) # Get Your [Full Retirement Road Map](https://share.hsforms.com/16I_d1QNAQ46Y32Hn1rPLTgqmnnn)[® Book Here](https://share.hsforms.com/16I_d1QNAQ46Y32Hn1rPLTgqmnnn) You can read a snippet of our 67-page Retirement Road Map® below. If you want to download the complete guide, please click the image or link above.  If your retirement plan *lacks any of the five essential elements listed below*, we might consider having a brief discussion, allowing you to decide if a more detailed conversation is necessary. [![SHP-Financial-retirement-roadmap-cover](https://retire.shpfinancial.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SHP-Financial-retirement-roadmap-cover.png?width=400&height=400&name=SHP-Financial-retirement-roadmap-cover.png "SHP-Financial-retirement-roadmap-cover")](https://share.hsforms.com/16I_d1QNAQ46Y32Hn1rPLTgqmnnn) # Introduction - Retirement Road Map® Time and again, we talk to people who are going through a fundamental shift in their lives. No, it is not from child to adolescent or from single to married. It’s not even from wife to mother. Of course, these are all big changes in life, but they will not be the biggest changes. The most significant change happens when you transition from being in the workforce to being in retirement. Today’s retirees are redefining the meaning of retirement. They’re living longer. They are extremely active. They want their golden years to be filled with learning new things, taking on new challenges, starting businesses, spending quality time with their families, and traveling the world. But as they look forward to leaving the workforce and starting out on these new adventures, the rite of passage can often be daunting for today’s retirees. There’s a multitude of planning that needs to be done prior to making the shift into the non-working life. Beyond the emotional shift, the most significant piece is protecting and planning for problems that could come up with finances. When it comes to finances, we call your working years the “accumulation phase” of your life. That is when you’re working and setting aside, or accumulating, money for retirement. When you retire, you shift from accumulating wealth to distributing it. We call that time the “distribution phase.” That is when you are drawing down your savings to supplement the income you no longer have. When it comes to managing your money, the distribution years are a whole new ball game. According to a 2023 Nasdaq article, “Accumulation and Distribution: Understanding the Order of Money,” the author says that during the distribution phase, "there's less time to make mistakes or experience major volatility because they will need funds sooner rather than later.” Making the transition to retirement requires a complete mind and a change in the way you think about money and — in particular — your investments. In our profession, we sit with people every day who have worked their whole lives saving for the day they can walk out of the workforce on their terms. However, all too often, we hear stories of people whose retirement dreams were crushed because they failed to readjust their way of thinking when it came to their money or their investment philosophy. Once you are entering your retirement years, you’re no longer working to put money away. In fact, in financial planning circles, we see retirement as unemployment. Now, your money is working for you. That is why in order to have success in retirement, you need to have a plan—a road map—created and managed by a financial professional who specializes in the distribution phase of retirement. > Any good retirement and financial plan should consist of at least five fundamental elements, all of which are a part of the planning process at SHP Financial known as the Retirement Road Map®. Our Retirement Road Map® consists of the five worlds of financial planning: > > 1. **An Income Plan,** > 2. **An Investment Plan Or Strategy Based On The Amount Of Risk You Are Comfortable With,** > 3. **A Tax Plan For You And Your Next Generation,** > 4. **A Health Care Plan, And** > 5. **A Legacy Plan.** *When you fail to have an adequate retirement plan, you put your retirement dreams at risk*. Throughout this book, we’ll be providing hypothetical stories of clients, and although they are fictitious, their situations are very common. For example, in 2009, a couple came to us looking for help. Michael, an electrician, was 65 and ready to retire that year. His wife, Susan, who was in the process of selling her small daycare business, was 64 and also looking to start the retirement they had dreamed of. When we sat down for our first meeting, Michael said, “We probably should have been here years ago, but life got in the way, and we just never found the time.” They procrastinated, just like most of us do. They should have started putting together a plan back in 2007, or better yet in 2005, if they wanted to retire in 2009. Unfortunately, they never got around to it. When it comes to mapping out your plans for retirement, it’s always better late than never. In 2007, after 40 long years of working, Michael and Susan had managed to save $1.7 million for retirement. Had they made a plan for that money back in 2007, we could have provided them with a plan that would have allowed them to retire with secure, predictable income to cover all their living expenses. Unfortunately, due to their procrastination, they left a $1.7 million portfolio that was too aggressively invested in the market and lacked diversification. It was set up for the accumulation stage. When the market crashed in 2008, they lost 40 percent of their assets, or $680,000. $680,000! Now their $1.7 million is only $1.02 million. If you equate that to working years, that’s 40 percent of their work life. So since Michael worked 40 years, that's 16 of those 40 years . . . gone. By the time Michael and Susan came to us, the plan they had hoped for was no longer achievable. Their total Social Security was $70,000 a year, and what they needed to cover their living expenses was $120,000 a year, not factoring in taxes. So, instead of fully retiring, Michael had to continue working part-time to supplement his income. If they had not procrastinated and had come to us, or to any credible financial planner, to put together their retirement plan years earlier using the $1.7 million they originally had, they could have been given a predictable and reliable income of $120,000 per year, with inflation. Instead, Michael now has to work part-time to supplement that gap. Michael and Susan’s story is just one of many we’ve seen over the years. That’s why it is so important to make sure that once you are less than ten years from retirement or are already retired, it’s crucial that you see a financial professional who specializes in the distribution phase of retirement.  The case studies/examples and results included in this book are for illustration purposes only and may not be typical. *The results shown will not be achieved for all clients or even for any client. Results for each client will differ depending on the client’s situation. They should not be considered specific investment advice, do not take into consideration your specific situation, and are not intended to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any securities or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and are not guaranteed. Additionally, no legal or tax advice is being offered. If legal or tax advice is needed, a qualified professional should be engaged, who can work with you to put together a well-thought-out and comprehensive plan regardless of the market conditions.* Throughout this book, we will cover each area in greater detail so you will have a guide on what factors to consider when creating your own road map to get you to and through retirement.  ## [Download the full book here >>](https://share.hsforms.com/16I_d1QNAQ46Y32Hn1rPLTgqmnnn)   1 C2P Enterprises, "Accumulation and Distribution: Understanding the Order of Money," Nasdaq, January 6, 2023, https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/accumulation-and-distribution%3A-understanding-the-order-of-money. ## Ready To Plan Your Retirement?  Schedule a retirement analysis review today. 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Insurance sales are offered through SHP Financial, LLC.  Our advisors and insurance reps may offer clients advice and/or products from each entity. No client is under any obligation to purchase any insurance product. No statements made shall constitute tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own legal or tax professional on any such matters. Offices in Westborough, Marlborough, and Braintree are offices of convenience and only used for client meetings. \*Guarantees provided by insurance products are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing carrier. Certain guides and content for publication were either co-authored or fully provided by third party marketing firms. SHP Financial utilizes third party marketing and public relation firms to assist in securing media appearances, for securing interviews, to provide suggested content for radio, for article placements, and other supporting services. 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