Business Development Officer, T.D. McNeil Insurance Services, Fresno, California
Many consider an arbitrary age, such as 65, as the time when they must retire. The better question is, “when will I be ready to retire?” Planning towards that date makes better sense. Almost 40% report that they started retirement at a date that they did not choose. This makes early planning very important.
There is quantitative data that will be necessary to start this process. You should prepare a current financial statement so that you can identify your assets and your liabilities. A cash flow statement would show both your current income and spending habits. That would give you a good indication about your spending in retirement. It would also help you decide if your retirement objectives are realistic. You might be living on a modest income, but planning to retire in luxury. That might be difficult to accomplish.
When you are looking at debt you need to identify those debts that will remain into your retirement. On the asset side you need to determine how much of those assets will be available once you retire. You probably have some assets that you don’t think about such as cash value life insurance, the equity in your home, another home, or collections.
Armed with this information you should seek professional help. If you are uncomfortable with that a visit to the local library will probably locate books that can help you evaluate things for yourself. If you do talk to a professional expect questions about your family, hobbies, organizations and other things that interest you.
The next step, taken either alone or with a professional, is to identify and prioritize your retirement goals. It is often difficult to visualize what life will be like once you retire. You should, however, identify what activities you want to do when you retire. If you want to do wood working or golf or travel, these things have costs and need to be identified. Some activities that you enjoy today might be difficult when you retire.
Many people want to leave a legacy. If you can establish now what you want to leave to charity or to your family that would be most helpful. If these can be funded early in the process it frees you to make decisions about your spending without worrying about conserving capital for a legacy.
The three most pressing issues for most people are providing for a retirement that lasts longer than they anticipate, providing for their surviving spouse and the potential expense of long-term care. These concerns play an important role in your retirement plan and may even affect the date that you start retirement.
Your cash flow statement should show what you are spending now. Those expenses will change somewhat and it is important to make those adjustments. Identify which expenses are absolutely necessary and which are “discretionary.” The way that you provide for basic expenses will be different from the way that you provide for your discretionary expenses. Remember that expenses are not going to remain constant over retirement.
Inflation is a problem in retirement that results in increased expenses when the income is probably remaining the same. At the same time, with age comes reduced capability to engage in some activities and that might lower the cost of retirement.
The next step is to identify the sources of retirement income. For most there will be social security. For a surprising number social security provides most or all of their retirement income. Perhaps you are fortunate and have a pension plan. Perhaps you have saved money for retirement in qualified or non-qualified plans.
Armed with this information you can start to formulate a plan that will take you through retirement and help you meet your objectives.
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There is quantitative data that will be necessary to start this process. You should prepare a current financial statement so that you can identify your assets and your liabilities. A cash flow statement would show both your current income and spending habits. That would give you a good indication about your spending in retirement. It would also help you decide if your retirement objectives are realistic. You might be living on a modest income, but planning to retire in luxury. That might be difficult to accomplish.
When you are looking at debt you need to identify those debts that will remain into your retirement. On the asset side you need to determine how much of those assets will be available once you retire. You probably have some assets that you don’t think about such as cash value life insurance, the equity in your home, another home, or collections.
Armed with this information you should seek professional help. If you are uncomfortable with that a visit to the local library will probably locate books that can help you evaluate things for yourself. If you do talk to a professional expect questions about your family, hobbies, organizations and other things that interest you.
The next step, taken either alone or with a professional, is to identify and prioritize your retirement goals. It is often difficult to visualize what life will be like once you retire. You should, however, identify what activities you want to do when you retire. If you want to do wood working or golf or travel, these things have costs and need to be identified. Some activities that you enjoy today might be difficult when you retire.
Many people want to leave a legacy. If you can establish now what you want to leave to charity or to your family that would be most helpful. If these can be funded early in the process it frees you to make decisions about your spending without worrying about conserving capital for a legacy.
The three most pressing issues for most people are providing for a retirement that lasts longer than they anticipate, providing for their surviving spouse and the potential expense of long-term care. These concerns play an important role in your retirement plan and may even affect the date that you start retirement.
Your cash flow statement should show what you are spending now. Those expenses will change somewhat and it is important to make those adjustments. Identify which expenses are absolutely necessary and which are “discretionary.” The way that you provide for basic expenses will be different from the way that you provide for your discretionary expenses. Remember that expenses are not going to remain constant over retirement.
Inflation is a problem in retirement that results in increased expenses when the income is probably remaining the same. At the same time, with age comes reduced capability to engage in some activities and that might lower the cost of retirement.
The next step is to identify the sources of retirement income. For most there will be social security. For a surprising number social security provides most or all of their retirement income. Perhaps you are fortunate and have a pension plan. Perhaps you have saved money for retirement in qualified or non-qualified plans.
Armed with this information you can start to formulate a plan that will take you through retirement and help you meet your objectives.