Plan for What You Need: The Long-term View

Our fast-moving lives keep us so focused on the next urgent thing that it can be challenging to stop, think and take a long-term view. But that’s exactly what you need to do to build a financially secure future.

Take Action on Future Goals Today
If you look 20 years ahead and think about what you want out of life, chances are it will have to do with people you love or experiences you want to have.  When you consider your most important financial goals, big-ticket items like buying a home, saving for college or enjoying a secure retirement may come to mind.  The fact is you need income and planning to accomplish much of the life you long for. Thinking about the future today and enacting a plan that moves you in the right direction are the best ways to make sure your goals happen. 

The exercise of creating a plan to accomplish your life’s goals is what we at Northwestern Mutual call needs-based financial planning. Our financial representatives use this process to bring clients the valuable insights and long-term view that has made our company so strong for the past 154 years.  The steps you take to create and execute a needs-based financial plan over time provide a holistic approach to financial security that addresses your needs throughout the stages of your lifetime. Here’s how the process works:

• Evaluate Your Needs
  It all starts with an in-depth discussion in which you think about your future, probe into your priorities and establish your goals. Who are the most important people in your life?  What do you want to accomplish now, in the next 3-5 years, and in the more distant future? How far have you come toward achieving your goals and what else do you need to get there?
• Create a Plan
  Your customized Personal Planning Analysis highlights your specific priorities and the elements of a financial plan that you might consider. Your financial representative uses this to review your big-picture possibilities and hone in on the best starting point in your financial security journey.
• Identify and Protect Against Risk
  The foundation of financial security is protecting you from risks that could get in the way of meeting your goals.  This is done through insurance that transfers your risk to a strong, stable company that you can count on to be there if the worst should happen. With careful underwriting and responsible management that puts policyowners first, Northwestern Mutual is recognized for its strength and stability and proud to have earned the trust and confidence of millions of policyowners.
• Accumulate Wealth
  After you address the risk protection priority, it’s time to focus on growing your assets to meet your long-term goals. In partnership with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network specialists who have expertise in areas such as investments, business and estate planning, your financial representative will suggest the best way to build wealth. This can include offering investments available through various financial vehicles—from mutual funds to stocks and annuities—that reflect your individual needs and risk tolerance.
• Distribute Assets
  Your financial representative can help you formulate an asset distribution plan as you reach retirement and look forward to the future you’ve envisioned. This may include a number of income streams, including immediate and deferred annuities, other tax-favored investment vehicles and disbursements from other retirement savings.

The financial representative is the common denominator for all of the steps in the needs-based financial security process. This is not a one-time plan, but a lifetime plan that is designed specifically to meet your goals. Your financial representative meets with you each year to check your priorities and adjust the plan as appropriate to fit your specific needs and circumstances.

Saving consistently for your future goals—with an eye on the long term—is the most important single thing you can do to plan for what you’ll need and build assets for the future. Your Northwestern Mutual financial representative is your conduit to accessing the strength of the network and the various experts who can help you generate the wealth you need to meet your goals.