In 1979 a passenger jet with 257 souls on board left New Zealand for a sightseeing flight to Antarctica and back.
The flights offered first-class luxury and a stunning view over the endless ice at the edge of the world. While both pilots on that day were well-trained and experienced pilots.
Neither had done that specific route on the day. Unbeknownst to the flight crew, someone mistakenly changed the flight plan. Typing a "6" into the flight computer instead of a "4" when entering the final number of the latitude and longitude coordinates.
This simple mistake changed the flight plan by a mere two degrees. This very small mistake changed the course of the flight east by 28 miles. As the pilots had not flown that route previously. They had no way of knowing if they were off course.
Tragically on that day in 1979, things would go very wrong.
At around noon, the Pilot Captain Jim Collins flew two large loops through the clouds to bring the plane down to about 2,000ft (610m) to try and offer his passengers a better view.
Assuming he was on the same flight path as previous flights and over the vast McMurdo Sound, he wouldn't have foreseen any problems.
By the time they realised they were on the wrong path, it was already too late and the plane crashed into the side of Mount Erebus.
The crash killed 227 passengers and 30 crew. Forty-four people were never identified during the search and recovery operations.
It was to be known as the Mount Erebus disaster.
What on earth does this story have to do with financial planning or working with people on an ongoing basis?
When it comes to planning the life you want or your retirement, you only get one chance to get it right.
We need to make sure we achieve the life you want, minimise any regrets and make the right course corrections at the right time so we stay on track.
For the most bespoke and complex financial processes of your life on how to manage your life savings. It is impossible to expect it to be a 'set and forget process.'
Like expecting a 30-year-period to go by without significant changes, it doesn't fit with reality.
Being able to implement a successful retirement plan is not a financial competency test. Having worked with Accountants, Doctors, Solicitors and even Pilots (don’t worry, I didn’t open with that story.) It is never a question of intelligence or information. It is a question of the right application at the right time.
Your retirement and your family's future relies on this, so stakes are high and without support, that is a heavy weight for you to bear.
A mistake at 40 is recoverable but much less so as you enter 5 years prior to retirement. As I explain in this article there are steps we can take to prove you have enough to retire.
Secondly, a plan is only as good as its ability to be implemented successfully. There are dozens are areas in implementing a financial plan which can go from minor to potentially devastating if incorrectly applied.
So can I just do the plan and pass over the reins from there?
It's a good and fair question. One that I've considered at length and weighed up but I'm not convinced it provides good value. It means most of the value would be lost in the process and crucially, what you are paying for may not actually happen.
Plans are meaningless - Planning is everything
The plan itself will be out of date as soon as it's completed. The purpose of bringing onboard a good financial planner are:
To ensure that you don't run out of money.
To ensure that you don't underspend (leave opportunity unfulfilled.)
To make sure you get the retirement you deserve.
In the same way, getting a good Personal Trainer will lead to better workouts. Vanguard's Advisor Alpha paper attributed 1.5% value PER YEAR purely to behavioural improvements.
We at Flying Colours also calculated in our research paper (see here) that was worth 1.35% per year.
The question is - what is truly valuable to you? Is it saving the ongoing fees or feeling comfortable with the fact that years of work leading up to this point will lead to the retirement you deserve?
Or, how about that whatever happens you know your family will be looked after and you don't pay taxes you don't need to?
A one-off plan doesn’t lead to behavioural improvements
A good financial planner will be in your corner, pushing you on to better your financial future. You don't want a passive, yes person or order-taker.
You want a strategic thinking partner who is going to push you to improve your finances and get you to where you want to be. Wherever that may end up being.
A one-off plan doesn't allow the full support of stopping problems before they escalate. Whether that is full financial planning or just need a second, impartial opinion from someone you can trust.
The power of course corrections
The initial financial plan is incredibly valuable as a roadmap to your future as it allows us to bring the future into the present so we can make positive changes now.
It is only the starting point and we need to continually make these adaptations so that you get to where you need to be.
The simple reason why it only makes sense to work with a planner on an ongoing basis is to ensure you actually get the retirement you deserve.
Planning, much like retirement, isn't a one-off event.
There’s no harm in having an initial chat! If I can’t help myself, I’ll make sure I do everything I can to point you towards someone who can.