I recently read an article about prospective retirees who were rethinking their plans for retiring because of feeling uncertain or anxious about the future. I think it’s a valid concern and one I hear often from people.
But what can you do about it?
That’s what we’ll explore in this post, so keep reading to learn more.
Your Retirement Plans
If you’re like many people, you probably don’t have a concrete date set as to when you’re going to retire. It will happen when you’re emotionally and financially ready. The emotional part of being ready is important because there’s more to retiring than having the right amount of money put away. I’ve seen what happens when people retire before they are emotionally ready and it’s never good. What about the idea of putting it off because of what might be a brief change in the markets? What if that change happened a year from now, after you’ve quit your job and moved to another state?
You could move your money from growth-oriented investments to more conservative investments like bonds, of course, but not even those markets are always sure things.
Life expectancies are climbing for many Americans, and it’s with that in mind that I feel as though you need to think about your future sources of income before you stop working.
If you own your home outright and plan to use a combination of social security and savings, you need to know just how much income this method will produce. This is where having a good financial advisor can help.
You may have noticed and increase in ads on TV that try to sell insurance products to retirees.
A lot of this is marketing to target people sitting on large amounts in an attempt to get them to trade a lump sum for guaranteed payments. Many like this because they see it as a better alternative to managing a portfolio and taking the distributions during down periods in the market. The volatility that is sometimes present in the market can make it hard to know just how much money you have month to month.
The truth is retiring today isn’t like it was in the 80s and 90s. Many people still work part time when retired so they have some extra cash and a way to keep busy. Some of these jobs can be done online, and from the comfort of home, for a few hundred dollars extra a month. As a financial planner, I think it’s something that should be considered before retirement. Talk to your spouse about the changes that come with retiring and really consider the lifestyle changes that will occur.
If you are rethinking your retirement, this is good. You’ll really be forced to think about your future, which will lead to being able to come up with a comprehensive plan.
Do you have any other questions about your retirement plan? If so, feel free to get in touch with me today. I can answer any questions you might have.
Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.