There are few things in life as predictable as the passage of time, yet few things we are as good at ignoring. We know that the day will come when we stop working, our regular paycheck will disappear, and we will need to rely on the savings and investments accumulated over decades. And yet, for many people, retirement planning remains a task for another day.
Parashat Noach offers a powerful lesson about the importance of preparing for the future, even when the danger seems distant and life appears to be going along just fine. In Bereishit 6:14, Hashem instructs Noach: “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.”
Noach is commanded to build a massive structure in preparation for a flood that, at that point, is nowhere in sight. Imagine the questions he must have faced. Why spend so much time and effort building an ark when the weather is perfectly fine? Why devote years to preparing for a disaster that may seem impossible to imagine?
Rashi, commenting on this verse, addresses a fundamental question: If Hashem had many ways to save Noach, why require him to build an ark? Rashi explains that Noach spent 120 years constructing it so that people would ask what he was doing. He would explain that a flood was coming, giving them an opportunity to repent (Rashi on Bereishit 6:14).
There is an important lesson here. Noach did not wait until the rain began falling to start building. He prepared long before the crisis arrived.
The same principle applies to retirement planning. Unfortunately, many people approach retirement as though they can begin preparing when the time comes. They assume that once they are ready to stop working, they will somehow find the money to support themselves. But just as Noach could not build an ark overnight, a retirement portfolio cannot necessarily be built in the final years before leaving the workforce.
One of the greatest advantages investors have is time. Someone who begins saving in their twenties or thirties has decades for contributions and investment returns to accumulate. Even relatively modest amounts, invested consistently, can grow significantly over a long period. Someone who waits until their fifties may need to save considerably more each month to reach the same destination.
This does not mean that people who start late should give up. It means they need to take an honest look at their circumstances, establish realistic goals, and develop a plan. The important thing is to begin rather than continue postponing the inevitable.
There is another lesson in Noach’s story: preparation requires more than simply recognizing a potential problem. It requires taking practical steps to address it.
Retirement planning means knowing how much money you have to live on
In retirement planning, that means knowing how much money you will need to live on, identifying your expected sources of income, and understanding the gap between the two. Social Security, pensions, savings, investment accounts, and other assets may all play a role, depending on a person’s circumstances. For those living in Israel, the calculation may also involve Israeli pensions, Bituach Leumi, and assets held abroad.
It is not enough to say, “I have been saving for years, so I should be fine.” You need to know whether your savings are likely to support the lifestyle you envision. Will you be able to cover housing, healthcare, travel, and everyday expenses? What happens if markets decline just as you retire? How will inflation affect your purchasing power over a retirement that could last 25 or 30 years?
These questions are not meant to frighten anyone. They are meant to encourage people to prepare while they still have options. Of course, retirement planning is not simply about accumulating as much money as possible. Noach’s ark had a specific purpose: to protect its occupants through the flood and preserve the possibility of a future. Similarly, a retirement portfolio should be designed around the life its owner wants to live.
A young investor saving for retirement may be able to tolerate substantial short-term market fluctuations in pursuit of long-term growth. Someone approaching retirement may need to pay greater attention to liquidity and the possibility of withdrawing money during a market downturn. A retiree who depends on portfolio withdrawals to pay monthly bills has different needs from someone with a substantial pension covering most expenses.
There is no single portfolio that is right for everyone. Investment decisions should reflect each person’s goals, time horizon, income needs, and tolerance for risk. A well-constructed plan should also be reviewed periodically as circumstances change. Importantly, building an ark does not mean predicting the exact date of the flood.
No one knows when the next market correction will occur, how long inflation will remain elevated, or what unexpected expenses may arise. Nor can anyone know precisely how long their retirement will last.
The objective is not to forecast every possible event. It is to create a financial structure capable of withstanding a range of outcomes. That may mean maintaining an appropriate cash reserve, diversifying investments, managing debt, reviewing insurance needs, and avoiding excessive exposure to any single investment or market.
Finally, Noach’s story reminds us that preparation is a process. Building an ark takes time, patience, and consistent effort. Retirement planning works the same way. It involves saving regularly, reviewing progress, making adjustments, and resisting the temptation to abandon a sensible long-term strategy whenever markets become turbulent.
We cannot control every financial storm that life may bring. We can, however, control whether we prepare for it. Retirement should not be viewed as a distant problem to be addressed when the time arrives. It is a stage of life that deserves attention long before the final paycheck. The earlier we begin building our financial ark, the more choices we may have when we eventually need it.
The rain may be years away. That is precisely why there is time to prepare.
The information contained in this article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates.
Aaron Katsman is author of the book Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to A Secure Financial Future with Global Investing (McGraw-Hill), and is a licensed financial professional both in the United States and Israel, and helps people who open investment accounts in the United States. Securities are offered through Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. (www.prginc.net). Member FINRA, SIPC, MSRB, FSI. For more information, call (02) 624-0995, visit www.aaronkatsman.com, or email aaron@lighthousecapital.co.il.