[Ed #11] If you can’t answer these 7 questions, your retirement plan needs work
Retirement is less forgiving than the years that built your wealth.
Not because you suddenly become incapable, but because some decisions become hard to unwind, and small assumptions start compounding quietly in the background.
Most retirement plans fail the same way most boats sink.
Not in one dramatic moment, but through a handful of small leaks no one bothered to check.
This is a diagnostic. Not a judgment.
If you cannot answer these 7 questions, your plan is not “bad”. It simply has too many unknowns and not enough written rules. And unknowns have a habit of turning into forced decisions at the exact wrong time.
Here is the quick stress test.
First, the rule
A resilient retirement plan is not one that predicts the future.
It is one that keeps you in control when the future arrives.
That means:
fewer unknowns
clear triggers
pre-decided responses
options preserved
Now, the 7 questions.
1) What is your safe-to-spend range (not a single number)?
Can you state a Green / Amber / Red monthly spending band?
Green: normal life
Amber: temporary tighten
Red: must act
Why it matters: a single “number” invites false certainty. Bands create decision-making under stress.
If you can’t answer: your spending plan is still vibes-based.
Quick fix: write three monthly figures today, even if rough. You can refine later. You cannot steer what you refuse to measure.
2) What are your triggers to tighten spending, and what exactly will you do?
If markets fall, inflation spikes, or costs jump, do you have pre-decided triggers?
Why it matters: if you don’t decide in calm weather, you’ll decide mid-storm.
If you can’t answer: your plan relies on future-you being perfectly rational. Future-you is busy.
Quick fix: choose three triggers and write the response next to each.
Example structure: Trigger → Response.
Not “we’ll review”. A real action.
3) If markets drop early, where does your spending come from for 24–36 months?
This is the sequence risk question.
Why it matters: selling growth assets in a down market to fund living costs is how good portfolios get unnecessarily damaged.
If you can’t answer: you may be exposed to forced selling at the wrong time.
Quick fix: define your “shock absorber” funding source and duration.
Write: We can fund X months/years from ____ without touching _____.
4) What are you paying in total fees, all-in, in dollars and percent?
Not just fund fees. Everything:
advice
platform/admin
fund/ETF costs
insurance inside super (often forgotten)
Why it matters: fee drag is quiet, compounding, and permanent.
If you can’t answer: you cannot tell whether performance is real or fee-mirage.
Quick fix: calculate one number:
Total fees per year ($)
All-in percentage (%)
If you only ever learn one thing about your plan, learn this.
5) Where are you concentrated?
Single stocks. One property. One sector. One strategy. One manager. One country. One currency.
Why it matters: a plan can look diversified and still be one event away from discomfort.
If you can’t answer: “diversified” may be a label, not a reality.
Quick fix: list your top exposures and ask:
What single event hurts me most?
If you can name it, you can manage it.
6) What changes if one of you lives to 95 or 100?
This is not pessimism. It is arithmetic.
Why it matters: many plans accidentally assume a 20-year retirement. Many people will live 30+ years post-work.
If you can’t answer: you may be running a short plan for a long life.
Quick fix: split retirement into three chapters:
Go-Go years (active, higher spend)
Slow-Go years (lower spend, more support)
No-Go years (health and care planning matters)
Then decide what changes at 85 and 90.
7) What are your next 3 irreversible decisions, and how will you test them first?
Examples:
stopping work
starting pensions
downsizing or buying property
large gifts to family
major renovations
locking in a big lifestyle commitment
Why it matters: some retirement decisions are easy to make and hard to reverse.
If you can’t answer: you may be one confident decision away from closing doors you meant to keep open.
Quick fix: write your next 3 big decisions and label each:
Reversible
Irreversible
If it’s irreversible, it deserves a resilience check before you pull the trigger.
A simple scorecard
For each question score yourself:
2: clear answer + written rule
1: rough answer (in your head)
0: unknown
12–14: resilient
7–11: workable but exposed
0–6: fragile (too many unknowns)
This is not a character assessment. It is a plan assessment.
The point of the test
If your plan “needs work”, good.
You found the soft spots early, while you still have time and options.
The goal is not to predict markets, inflation, or headlines.
The goal is to make retirement decisions you won’t regret, because you can prove your plan is resilient before you act.
If you only do one thing this week
Pick your lowest scoring question and turn it into a written rule.
Trigger → Response.
Known → Chosen → Calm.
If you want the printable version of this Stress Test (with Green/Amber/Red bands and scoring boxes), subscribe to The WealthSpan Letter and hit reply with the word TEST. If you’re already subscribed, just reply TEST and I’ll send it through.