Achieving Financial Stability During Retirement
By retirement age you’ve likely worked for 40-plus years, and can finally relax, enjoy family, and visit friends. Unfortunately, staying financially stable in retirement is often a challenge.
Working through these tasks will help you maintain financial stability when you retire:
The key to achieving financial stability is to make your money last. Life expectancy continues to rise. Can you afford to stay in retirement if you live to your 80s, 90s, or beyond? This is an important question that requires careful thought and planning. You may want to consult a financial advisor for a variety of tactics you can use to make your money last.
Make a list of your retirement goals.
What do you plan to achieve once you’re done working? What are some of the most important aspects of retirement you don’t want to miss? Is it visiting grandchildren or traveling around the world? Do you want to retire on a beach or spend your days in a city? Your list can include items such as paying for your grandchild’s college education or purchasing a yacht.
A list of your retirement goals can help you figure out how to stay financially stable.
“Each goal has a financial value,” explains Daniel T. Lerner, Executive Vice President at David Lerner Associates. “Consider how you can safely work each goal into your financial plan based on the money you’ve saved up and the funds you still have coming in. Include these goals in your retirement budget.”
Make a list of retirement essentials.
Retirement essentials are basic housing, food, medications, and other necessary costs. All of these are tied to your financial stability.
• How much will your home cost during retirement? Will your home be paid off by retirement? If you own your home, remember to include the continuing costs of property taxes and maintenance.
• Will you be preparing your meals at home? How often do you intend to eat out?
• Medications, doctor visits, and other health care costs are also a concern.
• What about utilities?
Combine the lists and start calculating.
Include all your costs from your lists of essentials and goals to come up with a budget. It’s important to estimate correctly and consider emergency situations. Use this handy retirement calculator to help you figure it out.
Consider the growth of your investments in the future.
How much money do you expect to have once you retire? How much can you expect these funds to grow during retirement? What income streams will contribute to your daily life once you’re no longer at work?
Think about Medicare and Social Security.
Do you want to depend on these sources? Will you be able to survive on these benefits? How much will they contribute to your lifestyle? Your Social Security benefits go up the longer you can avoid starting them.
Retirement can be one of the best phases of your life. If you stay financially stable, then you can avoid making difficult money decisions and enjoy the retirement you dreamed about.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
Material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be used in connection with the evaluation of any investments offered by David Lerner Associates, Inc. This material does not constitute an offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.
To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law.
Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on his or her individual circumstances.
These materials are provided for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable– we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice.
David Lerner Associates does not provide tax or legal advice. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. Member FINRA & SIPC.