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How to Fix Your Retirement Planning

Retirement planning can be an activity that, if done right, could provide a much needed comfort zone post-employment. However, there are some pitfalls and definite ways to do it wrong.

Consider that (according to the National Institute on Aging) men, on average, live an additional 17 years past the typical retirement age of 65 and women another 20 years beyond that.

That’s a fair amount of time to enjoy cruises to the Caribbean or spending time with relatives and friends. However, it’s also a lot of time to stress and worry about the lack of financial well-being in those years.

A well-planned retirement can help you get through those years without the need to worry about too much time and too little money in the bank.

Here are some of the major errors that are made in the planning process, and how to correct them:

Narrow view

Focusing only on your rate of return may seem counter-intuitive. Of course, you would want to maximize your returns — obviously. But the hard truth is that rates are often not in your control with the falling prices of commodities and the threat of recessions makes that idea even less reliable. An overall strategy is the way to side-step this pitfall. The solution is to diversify your portfolio.

Retirement is just the beginning

A plan is only as effective as it is relevant to the current climate. Thinking of your retirement plan as running on autopilot is a risky proposition, especially once you’ve actually begun retirement.

So instead of applying the old “rule of thumb” of withdrawing a set percentage annually and not taking into account the changing winds of our economy and your potential expenses, it would be a lot smarter to meet with your financial advisor on a yearly basis and reevaluate your strategy to meet the current set of circumstances you may be faced with.

Too little too late

It would be quite a shock to arrive at your retirement party only to realize that you started to save too late or didn’t save enough. This may seem like a message from Captain Obvious, but almost two thirds of people surveyed in an Employee Benefit Research Institute study say that they expect to have to work for pay during their retirement years, because they do not enough savings set aside.

The solution is to start now, and increase your contributions with every raise and bonus along the way.

The positive news is that there’s always time to make a change for the better, and it’s never too late to start planning well for a comfortable retirement where you can enjoy the lifestyle you’re used to.

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.

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