FA President Dante Morelli thanks Gerry McGahran, director of financial planning for Stacey Braun Associates, for offering the annual financial planning and retirement workshop on April 9.

"The sooner you become more educated about your options for retirement, the more time you'll have to enact your plans and build the future you want for yourself."

Making an argument to educators about the importance of education (and not procrastinating) seems like an easy sell, but Gerry McGahran, director of financial planning for Stacey Braun Associates, says he regularly works with individuals who don't plan for retirement as early as they probably should.

McGahran knows, however, that educators are busy people and that the pandemic has made teaching, advising, counseling and otherwise working at the college much more challenging. Still, he says, most people retire soon after age 60, and given that average American lifespans are getting longer, you want to make sure you're planning now to ensure a healthy, comfortable retirement for those two, three or more decades.

If you're one of those people who really haven't been able to make financial planning a top priority in recent years, it's never too late. The sooner you make an appointment for an individual consultation with Stacy Braun, though, the better. You can contact Mary Kaffaga of the Benefit Fund or reach out to Stacy Braun directly at 888-949-1925.

Stacy Braun has been the FA's financial consultant for about twenty years, and McGahran has been offering annual financial planning and/or retirement workshops on campus for us for about ten years. McGahran's April 9 workshop covered the following topics:

• Cash management
• Insurance
• Investing
• Retirement
• Education planning (dependents' college)
• Estate planning
• Financial assistance & resources

He started with the basics—understanding how to calculate your assets and liabilities to determine your net worth—then shifted right into setting goals, budgeting, understanding credit and managing debt. After reviewing some basic types of insurance (life, disability, long-term care), McGahran dove into one of his specialties, understanding and maximizing your personal investments. He discussed cash, bonds and stocks; allocation of assets; and diversification and risk tolerance. This is easily the most popular section of his workshop each year, as McGahran patiently responds to our members' individual questions and requests for advice.

When it comes to retirement planning, this workshop offers an excellent overview and gives members sufficient information to get started with or adjust their planning. This workshop wrapped up with points of advice about any education planning and estate planning members might be dealing with.

The most common roadblocks to a financially secure retirement, McGahran says, are not setting goals, lack of understanding, debt, poor investment choices, inflation, taxation and, yes, procrastination.

If you're an FA member who was unable to attend the April 9 workshop but would like a link to the recording, please contact me and I'll send it to you. As McGahran advises each year: Sooner is better than later when it comes to financial planning!