Americans worry about affording retirement, but that doesn’t usually translate into hard-core financial planning. Then there’s David Littell, the 61-year-old director of the retirement income planning program at the American College of Financial Services, a nonprofit that educates financial advisers. If anyone ought to have a well-thought-out plan, it’s this guy.
So we asked him what’s in it.
It’s a little intense—this is one well-prepared pre-retiree, and one who knows his insurance products, since the college’s focus has historically been on educating insurance agents.1 While the challenge of ensuring he won’t outlive his money isn’t unique, his attitude may be. “I find this fun,” he said. A sign of how into this stuff he is? Before a follow-up call, he e-mailed a three-page, 1,500-word, bullet-pointed outline of his thinking.