Apricus Wealth LLC
Apricus Wealth LLC

For retirees, financial security often begins with a deeply personal concern: having enough money to pay for housing, food, health care, and everyday expenses throughout retirement. Many also hope to preserve their independence, avoid becoming financially dependent on their children, and leave an inheritance for the next generation. These priorities can make retirement planning an emotional undertaking, particularly when people must translate a lifetime of savings into income that may need to last for decades. The central question is how to balance today's living expenses with tomorrow's financial responsibilities while retaining the flexibility to respond to changing circumstances.

Joseph J. Costigan, CFA, founder of Apricus Wealth, a wealth advisory and investment management firm, believes this question deserves greater attention in financial planning. Drawing on decades of experience in financial analysis, trading, and institutional portfolio management, Costigan emphasizes the relationship between available cash, future spending obligations, and long-term investments. "Retirement security may become easier to assess when people first identify the resources needed to fund their lives, then determine how the remaining assets might support future growth and family legacy goals," he states.

Recent research suggests that these concerns extend across a substantial portion of the retirement population. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research's 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey, 64% of Americans expressed confidence in their ability to live comfortably throughout retirement, while rising health care costs, housing expenses, and concerns about Social Security and Medicare weighed on financial expectations. These findings suggest that retirement confidence may depend partly on understanding how available assets translate into future spending capacity.

For Costigan, this distinction has implications for how financial professionals assess risk. Portfolio volatility can describe fluctuations in asset values, yet retirees may experience risk more immediately through uncertainty about next month's bills or the resources available for future medical expenses. "The most meaningful measure of retirement security may be whether a person can meet essential obligations when they come due," he emphasizes. This perspective invites advisers to connect investment decisions with the practical responsibilities their clients hope to fulfill throughout retirement.

That connection begins with a detailed assessment of household spending. An adviser can estimate essential expenses, account for Social Security benefits and income from portfolio holdings, and calculate the remaining amount required to support the household. The resulting shortfall becomes a planning target that can inform the allocation of assets across different time horizons. By translating an overall financial picture into specific future obligations, retirees may gain a more tangible understanding of the resources available to them.

Costigan's framework includes using a bond ladder to help cover projected spending gaps over approximately 10 to 15 years. A bond ladder holds bonds with staggered maturity dates, allowing principal to become available at planned intervals. "The idea is to have money becoming available when you expect to need it, so you're less likely to have to sell long-term investments at an unfavorable time," Costigan explains. "A bond ladder can help provide that structure, but you have to consider interest rates, inflation, taxes, and the possibility that your spending needs may change over time."

The broader principle resembles liability-matching practices used by institutional investors, adapted to an individual household's circumstances. Each period of retirement brings its own financial obligations, and assigning resources to specific time horizons can help distinguish money intended for near-term spending from capital available for longer-term investment. Costigan's work at Apricus Wealth sits within this broader planning discussion, linking household cash-flow needs with portfolio construction and the responsibilities associated with preserving wealth across generations.

The importance of defining a safety threshold also becomes apparent when considering the cost of excessive caution. Costigan recalls an instance of someone keeping his savings in bank accounts earning approximately 2% interest, despite having resources that might have supported a broader investment strategy. The decision reflected a familiar concern: protecting accumulated savings can take precedence when the amount required for future living expenses remains uncertain. Over an extended retirement, however, cash holdings may offer limited potential to offset inflation, depending on prevailing interest rates and changes in the cost of living.

"People can make more informed investment decisions when they understand the amount their lives actually require," Costigan says. That example illustrates how uncertainty about essential spending can influence decisions across an entire portfolio. When every dollar appears necessary for protection, retirees may have difficulty distinguishing capital required for immediate security from assets that could support future growth, personal experiences, or an inheritance.

Establishing that distinction may also change the emotional experience of retirement. Once essential expenses have been accounted for through appropriate income sources and reserves, the remaining portfolio can be evaluated according to its longer-term purpose. Some assets may support future discretionary spending, while others may be invested with a long-term horizon to accommodate longevity or legacy goals. "The appropriate allocation depends on individual circumstances, including spending flexibility, health care needs, other income sources, and the amount a person hopes to leave to family members," Costigan emphasizes.

Personalized advice plays an important role in translating these calculations into decisions a household can understand. Conversations about family responsibilities, desired living standards, and inheritance intentions can help advisers identify priorities that portfolio statistics alone may overlook. For Costigan, investment management is about helping people use their financial resources to support the lives they want to lead. That requires technical analysis alongside an understanding of the personal meaning attached to money.

The implications extend to the years before retirement, when saving habits can expand future choices. Contributing from the first paycheck, increasing savings as income rises, and making consistent use of available retirement plans can give investments more time to compound. Early preparation may also create greater flexibility when people eventually transition from earning income to drawing on accumulated assets.

Overall, retirement planning may benefit from beginning with two questions: How much money will a household need, and which resources can reasonably be assigned to those obligations? Defining that safety threshold gives investors a practical reference point for decisions about growth, spending, and inheritance.