Robert Laura

Many people are so focused on getting to the retirement finish line that they don ' t plan for much beyond it .

Editor ’ s Note : This is an excerpt from Robert Laura ’ s book Retirement Intelligence

— Personal Retirement Readiness .

ID YOU KNOW THAT 60 % OF PEOPLE WHO TRY TO ESCAPE from prison are caught within the first 24 hours and 85 % are caught within a week ? ( This was noted by the History Channel ’ s documentary “ America ’ s Greatest Prison Breaks ” in 2015 .)

You may be wondering why I ’ m sharing Alcatraz-like tales here , but if you think about it for a minute , retirement and prison escapes are very similar .

You see , when people plan a prison escape , they are so focused on the act of getting out that they don ’ t do much planning for when they are finally beyond the walls . Which is when they realize they didn ’ t have the tools , resources and support that they need to stay on the run .

Similarly , many people are so focused on getting to the retirement finish line that they don ’ t plan for much beyond it . As a result , they not only end up looking like a convict in an orange jumpsuit walking down the highway trying to catch a ride , but they can also suffer in silence for years .

Fact is , many people have little to no education about real-life in retirement , and much of what people have been told or trained to think won ’ t help them make a meaningful transition . As if they were in a botched prison escape , they never feel settled in or truly free .

My plan is to change that by giving retirement a much more personal look and feel without using any barbed wire or rooftop prison guards . Fair warning ! This is not fluffy , superficial information . These are real life ,

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2025 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | 17