8 minute read
PUZZLE: KIMBALL’S LEGACIES
Chris Kimball’s keywords The outgoing president (2008–2020) and current professor (2006–present) has left a long list of legacies. Fill in the blanks.
Kimball and new students help with Thomas fire recovery in 2018.
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ACROSS 1. The P in PLTS, Cal Lutheran’s northern- most outpost since 2014 2. Kimball is the CLU president 3. Kingsmen national championship sport in 2017 4. Residence hall dedicated in 2009 5. Highest-ever ranking in U.S. News Best Colleges’ regional list, from last September 6. You Got 7. William Rolland Center opened in 2017 8. Regals national championship sport in 2016 9. What Kimball served at Late Night Breakfast 10. Center for Leadership launched in 2016 11. Center for Economic Research and launched in 2009 12. KCLU Radio’s domain since 2013 expansion 13. Since 2016 in Westlake Village: 101 14. Science Center opens soon 15. Kimball signed Second Nature Commitment in 2016 16. and Communication Center opened in 2016 17. Kimball’s college major 18. Kimball’s team
DOWN Annual student research showcase. Launched in 2007 by Kimball when he was the provost and vice president of academic affairs
ACROSS (more hints!) 1. Lutheran theological seminary in Berkeley 2. Ordinal, lucky 3. He teaches its history 4. Holy Ghost included 5. Ranking for Best Undergraduate Teaching (three) times three
6. Since 2008, a single, common volunteer project during New Student Orientation 7. Not to mention the Rolland Stadium and Gallery of Fine (2011) 8. Four L’s 9. Four T’s 10. Previously run by the Ventura County Community Foundation 11. Don’t ask a historian for this 12. Thousand Oaks to San Luis Obispo 13. Community space for regional startups run by Center for Entrepreneurship
14. There’s also the Center for Social and Behavioral Sciences (2010) 15. Carbon neutrality and resilience plans 16. Empowers people and caregivers with alternatives to speech 17. All his degrees are in this discipline 18. All his life, starting in Massachusetts
Answers on Page 31 DOWN (last clue) On campus April 27 through May 1, 2020. Come check it out!
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Chia-Li Chien’s most recent book is Enhancing Retirement Success Rates in the United States: Leveraging Reverse Mortgages, Delaying Social Security, and Exploring Continuous Work (2019).
LEAVE A PENNY Chia-Li Chien (“Jolly Jan,” she’ll tell you to say) has convinced her husband to keep working, but couldn’t get her mother-in-law to delay Social Security. She has ideas to help the rest of us outlive the money.
What was something that surprised you while writing this book? The biggest aha! moment for me was finding out that portfolio allocation, as we’ve typically talked about it, isn’t a big concern. Advisers will tell you that, before retirement, you should be at least 60% in stocks; but the moment you reach retirement, you ought to be 50-50 or even switch to 60% in fixed income and 40% in equity (stocks). That’s a rule of thumb and every adviser is still telling people to do that. But the percentage of the population where that actually makes a difference is so small. In fact, you should be more aggressive.
You consider a lot offinancial strategies for retirement. Is there one you’d most like to recommend? Yes, number one, delay claiming Social Security retirement benefits. That’s an easy task; people just don’t do it. Approximately 60% take it at age 62. At 70, you would get a 30% increase in the monthly payment.
If you don’t want to wait until 70, I get
that. But bare minimum, take it at full retirement age to get the full benefit. For me, that’s 67. For someone older, it might be 66 or 65.
Thirty percent more is a lot. Only 3-5% of people wait to take retirement benefits at 70. No matter how much incentive the government puts in there, they know people tend to take it early. They know. Look at them as a casino – they win. The Social Security Administration doesn’t do a very good job of telling people, You really need to delay this.
Please explain howyour approach in this book is distinctive. In financial planning, the majority of the research is all simulation of fictitious people. You have $1 million and they run a simulation to see if you’re going to make it.
I don’t like that idea, so I went to the Census Bureau for data. This census data is not taken every 10 years, but continuously. It’s on a group of people they’ve followed since the 1980s. I took a more recent snapshot of that, looking at people who are already retired and already taking Social Security. Then I matched it with another data set from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which goes and finds out the actual expenses, all kinds of living expenses. And then I map all of the different age groups. And I try to answer, Are they going to make it or not?
You define “success” as having at least one penny to your name at death. Do your clients ever see it that way? No, they don’t. People always have something else in mind. Clients who can afford financial planning services will typically talk about having something for their family. The biggest conflicts I see working with clients who are about to retire are: They want to pay for the children’s education or a child’s wedding. Oftentimes I have to tell clients, No, you just cannot do that.
Do regular people need to understand “scaling factors”? They do. The scaling factor is a measurement based on the average living expenses for their state. You’d better not spend double the average amount because that’s just going to eat up your resources very quickly.
You need to find a way to stretch your resources as long as possible. A reverse mortgage could be a good strategy, but I say downsize. Downsize quickly to save on heat, electricity and all of that. Or move to a lowercost-of-living state.
Your top five least expensive states to retire in are totally different for singles and couples, with no overlap. How could that be? Again, those are all based on a survey that the U.S. government conducted. It’s different depending on expenses for one person versus two. You have to really do your homework before you make that migration.
But remember, we should not be planning just for two people. We also have to plan for one, from the very beginning. In the data set, about 80% of the single retirees are women, and most of them are widows. Most of these singles households, these widows, outlive their assets.
Another strategyyou raise is moving in with family. In the old days, we tended to have seniors living in homes with us and multiple families living under one roof. I think that’s a good idea that we really need to take into consideration going forward. We have to not be so individualistic. Seniors will avoid loneliness, and it will be a benefit for the whole family spiritually, socially.
I would encourage people to do it, although my in-laws and my parents don’t like that idea. They have lived with their in-laws and had a terrible experience, so now they don’t want to bother their kids. But I feel like that’s the only solution, for many families, that will get us out of the state funding crisis for homeless seniors.
So be nice to your kids. Be nice to your friends and family because that might be your last resort. Or you might offer your home to others. Those are all good options to consider.
Chia-Li Chien is an assistant professor and director of the financial planning program in the School of Management; a succession program director at Value Growth Institute, a business succession consulting practice; a frequent speaker about succession and retirement planning at national conferences; and a board member for various national financial service associations. She holds a doctorate in financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner as well as a Project Management Professional.
Chris Kimball, PhD President Leanne Neilson, PsyD Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Regina D. Biddings-Muro, EdD Vice President for University Advancement Karen Davis, MBA ’95 Vice President for Administration and Finance Melissa Maxwell-Doherty ’77, MDiv ’81 Vice President for Mission and Identity Melinda Roper, EdD Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Matthew Ward, PhD Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing Gerhard Apfelthaler, PhD Dean of the School of Management Michael Hillis, PhD Dean of the Graduate School of Education Richard Holigrocki, PhD Dean of the Graduate School of Psychology Jessica Lavariega Monforti, PhD Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences The Rev. Raymond Pickett, PhD Rector of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary The Rev. Alicia Vargas, MDiv ’95, PhD Dean of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary BOARD OF REGENTS Susan Lundeen-Smuck ’88, Chair Deborah Sweeney, Vice Chair Bill Camarillo, Secretary Candice (Cerro ’09) Aragon John Basmajian ’20 Linda Baumhefner The Rev. Jim Bessey ’66 Andrew Binsley Ann Boynton ’83 Sue Chadwick Tracy Downs ’88, MD Randall Foster Rod Gilbert, H’16 Arnold Gutierrez, PhD The Rev. Mark Holmerud Jon Irwin Chris Kimball, PhD Judy Larsen, PhD Rick Lemmo Malcolm McNeil The Rev. David Nagler, MDiv ’93 The Rev. Frank Nausin ’70, MDiv ’74 Carrie Nebens Kären Olson ’83 Jim Overton Genessis Palacios ’15, MBA ’20 Debra Papageorge ’12 Mike Soules Allison Wee, PhD Russell Young ’71 CAL LUTHERAN MISSION The mission of the university is to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice.
