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www.HartfordBusiness.com • December 4, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 19 EXPERTS CORNER Gen Xers who haven't planned for retirement need not worry By Joel Johnson Y ou're 50 years old and you haven't begun planning for retirement. You haven't put aside a dime, opened a retirement account or, quite frankly, thought much about it. Then you wake up suddenly in the middle of the night and think, "What have I done?! I've blown it — it's too late!" If this happens go back to sleep and rest easy. When you wake up in the morning you can be assured that it's not too late to begin planning. It never is. We'd love to think everyone begins plan- ning for their retirement the moment they hit the workforce at age 18 or 22, but it usually doesn't happen that way. Life tends to get in the way and the idea of "retiring" is something we tend to put off until a later date. And yes, for some, that later date never comes, and suddenly they're in their 50s and still have nothing planned. And that's okay because they can start right now and still be in solid shape when they near retire- ment. Here's a simple three-step process on how to do it. Step 1: Get rid of debt — The only major debt people should have is their mortgage; that is debt on a stable or appreciating asset. But everything else should go, or at least be man- aged to the point where it's not a burden. This particularly speaks to credit card debt, per- sonal loans, medical debt and even car loans. Regarding the latter, one very sensible ap- proach could be moving from a new car to one that is pre-owned (usually three years old or less). Not only are these cars fairly reliable, but they can be obtained at roughly half the price of a new one. Step 2: Create an emergency fund — Much like state and local governments have rainy day funds, so too should people and families have emergency funds, a savings account put aside for only those times when it is abso- lutely needed. This is not money saved for that great vacation or luxury purchase, but rather for unforeseen repairs that come out of nowhere — home repairs, car repairs and emergency health situations, to name a few. This will help you avoid borrowing money — and accruing more debt — should an emergency ever take place. Ideally, this fund should cover three months of expenses; if it costs you $3,000 a month to live, then in the best of all worlds the fund should have $9,000 in it. Under- standably, this is not possible for everyone to create right away, so if it's not, a good place to start is with $1,000 put aside, and then build it from there. It will amaze you how helpful this account will be if treated correctly. Step 3: Maximize retirement savings — Now that your debt has been managed and an emergency fund is up and running, you're ready to start saving towards retire- ment. Open a retirement account, such as a 401(k) or a 403(b), and immediately start maximizing it — meaning putting 10 per- cent to 15 percent of every paycheck into it. If your employer will match it, you'll have even more going in and working for you, but even without a match, this will add up very nicely before too long. People usually discover that within six months of this money coming out of every paycheck, they tend not to miss it. If you're starting from behind at age 50 or so and are a little behind the 8-ball at first, those first six months could prove to be a little uncom- fortable. But stick with it and you will see how easy it becomes. The choice is clear: You can be a little uncomfortable now for a short period, or a lot uncomfortable once you retire. Think about it: 15 percent saved for 15 years is 225 percent of your salary, with interest. That's hundreds of thousands of dollars waiting for you when you retire. If you are a member of Generation X (roughly those born between 1965 to 1981) who has not yet started retirement planning, please don't panic or be overwhelmed. The worst thing to do is give up; the key is doing some- thing consistently for a long period of time. If you haven't started yet, it's not too late, nor is it uncommon. And with careful planning and adherence to these three very simple steps, you're setting yourself up for a happy and fulfilling retirement 15 to 20 years down the road. Joel Johnson is the managing partner at Wethersfield-based retirement planning firm Johnson Brunetti. HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULT: Joel Johnson NEXT WEEK'S POLL: Has George Jepsen been a good attorney general for Connecticut? To vote, go online to hartfordbusiness.com BIZ BOOKS How the art of improv applies to business By Jim Pawlak "Getting to 'Yes And' — The Art of Business Improv" by Bob Kulhan with Chuck Crisafulli (Stanford Business Books, $29.95). If you've ever been at an improv comedy show, you've seen ac- tors work unscripted to create entertain- ment. Employees are improvisers, too. They deal daily with unscripted change in the form of shifting pri- orities, email, phone calls, and working with others relative to time, tasks and projects. Kulhan, who trained improvisers at Chi- cago's legendary Second City improv theater, applies the "Yes, and … " principle of improv to the workplace stage. Here's how yes-anding works: Improvisers don't go with the flow; they create the flow. When saying Yes to whatever's said or happens, other actors see Yes as a gift, and provide the thank-you "and," which leads to the how and what that moves the scene forward. It may not move in the direction that the Yes speaker thought it would; it definitely moves the way the "and" responder directs it — until the next "Yes, and … " presents itself. The outcome- based workplace en- vironment for using "Yes, and" differs from the entertaining stage version. The workplace needs bridge-building relation- ships to achieve results. Yes acknowledges what the other says without judgement; the "and" lets the other know that you listened and want to know more about his/her perspective. Yes-anding creates a culture that values diverse opinions and ideas, and treats people with R-E-S-P-E-C-T, which builds trust. Used to probe how, why and what, yes-anding focuses employees on doing their homework. This motivates people to own their work product and collaborate with colleagues to connect the dots. Takeaway: "Impro- visation is all about reacting and adapt- ing and communicat- ing." Remember that "Yes, but … " means the other party hears "No," and shuts down the conversation. Jim Pawlak Book Review Can Hartford become a hub for insurance technology, or InsurTech, startups? 28.6% No 71.4% Yes READER COMMENTS: "It already is. A friend left Hartford to work for a major insurer in Boston and was shocked how behind that firm was compared to the company he left in Hartford." "Hartford has a severe image problem. UConn Hartford is a start, but it is a commuter campus. The entire city is a commuter campus." "Why not? Hartford has the potential to be a lot of things." We'd love to think everyone begins planning for their retirement the moment they hit the workforce at age 18 or 22, but it usually doesn't happen that way. Improvisation is all about reacting and adapting and communicating.