Five easy pointers to help you plan during all of your retirement years.
If you’re retired, the good news is that you’ll probably live longer and perhaps better than your parents and grandparents did. The bad news: You’ll live a longer and perhaps more expensive life too.
You face decisions your parents or grandparents likely didn’t face before you.
This means every year you need to realistically estimate your life expectancy to ensure the foundation for your retirement (which might include years of less-than-great health). Let’s say you are 58. You need to plan for the next 37 years – more than a third of your life.
Pointers to Help Plan During Retirement
Here are five easy pointers, in ascending order of importance:
5. Costs of advice
You probably have a lot of questions. How much do you pay someone now to help you coordinate your investments? How much do your investments cost?
Is your portfolio sufficiently diversified? Did you buy annuity policies that you don’t really understand and that may become expensive for you to own?
The average American spends more time analyzing the cost of a new TV than the costs and qualities of a financial advisor.
(If you don’t work with an advisor or your current advisor isn’t a fiduciary, reach out to our team at [email protected] to get a second opinion on your financial picture.)
4. Social Security
Don’t decide about benefits and lump-sum pension choices without input from an objective financial planner – or you may leave significant money behind. Remember that the Social Security Administration won’t necessarily provide advice on your best strategies.
3. Your home and future health
Consider the final 15+ years of your life. Where will you live when you’re 80? In a large home with stairs? Will most of your wealth center around your home as your retirement years tick past?
Who will care for you if you can’t yourself or your spouse is unable to?
Get objective advice on housing and long-term care planning.
2. Know what you own
Are you one of the tens of thousands with half-forgotten old 401(k) plans from previous employers? Do you have multiple accounts with various brokers? Outdated estate documents or long-forgotten life insurance policies?
Consolidate your holdings and paper trail, a kindness not only to your current recordkeeping but also to your future heirs.
1. Make your wants clear
Include your adult children or siblings in a frank discussion about where your assets are and your preferences for treatment if you end up in the hospital.
You don’t need to give specific dollar information, but family or friends need to know your preferences and where to find your assets if you pass away or can no longer communicate.
Death and taxes are inevitabilities we all face. Make that time as easy as you can for your executor and heirs.
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At Credent, we build dynamic plans that help you accomplish what you hope to accomplish at every stage of life.
If you have questions about how to plan in your post-retirement years, reach out to our team at [email protected]
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“Retirement Planning Does Not Stop in Retirement.” FMeX. 2022. https://fmexcontent.s3.amazonaws.com/12553/12553.pdf