Retirement Planning : Securing Your Financial Future
WHAT IS RETIREMENT PLANNING ?
Retirement is a milestone that many of us wait for, a time to relax, travel and enjoy the fruits of our labor. To have a prosperous retirement life , you need a strategic retirement planning. Retirement Planning is the process of ensuring that you have enough wealth/finance to live a comfortable life even after you stop working.
KEY STEPS AND CONSIDERATIONS INVOLVED IN A STRATEGIC RETIREMENT PLANNING
1. PLANNING YOUR RETIREMENT GOALS & TIMELINE
Retirement Planning begins with retirement goals and timeline. What you want to do in retirement or how to spend your retirement time are plans which come under the retirement goals. It can be activities like public service, traveling, gardening or volunteering. Some people love to spend time with family in retirement.
Once you plan your retirement goal, the next step is to plan when to retire. The retirement timeline need to be well calculated depending upon your current financial situation, savings & the expected rate of return, loans or debts, and desired retirement lifestyle. There are multiple sophisticated tools available in google to calculate retirement timeline , few tools are : Bankrate, Vanguard & NerdWallet.
2. MAXIMIZING YOUR RETIREMENT INCOME
In retirement , your income source may change since you will not be doing a full time job. Apart from regular income, it is important to maximize your income sources available to you in order to have a desired retirement life. Along with maximizing your retirement income, you need to make sure that you are going to pay off all your debts. Debts can be a mortgage. student loan,
How to maximize your retirement income :
- Invest in real estate, stocks , properties or buy shares.
- Contribute to retirement plans, 401(k) or 403(k) plan are tax advantaged plans.
- Consider annuities
- Generate passive income, by making use of your additional skills.
3. MANAGING HEALTHCARE EXPENSE IN RETIREMENT
Healthcare expense can be significant, as it can quickly finish up your retirement savings. Healthcare costs tend to increase as we age, and it's important to budget for these expenses in your retirement planning. There are certain things which you can do to manage your healthcare expense in retirement such as:
- Opt for best health insurance plan.
- Take supplemental insurance, if your health insurance doesn't cover your complete medical expenses.
- Take advantage of Medicare, which is a federal medical insurance. It covers health care cost such as doctor visits, hospital stays and drugs expenses.
- Stay Healthy by working on your physical and mental health . Try to keep yourself fit by taking a healthy diet, practicing mindfulness, by indulging in physical activities and by taking proper sleep.
4. MAXIMIZING YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS
Social Security benefits can be a significant source of income during retirement. Social Security is a federal program that provides retirement, survivors and disability benefits to eligible individuals, their spouses and children are also eligible for these benefits. You can start collecting social security benefits from age of 62, it is crucial to explore various options and strategies to maximize your social security benefits. Information on Social Security benefits can be gathered from website => Social Security Administration.
5. SEEKING PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE
Seeking professional help can provide valuable insights and better strategies. Guidance from financial advisors can help you create a well planned retirement planning. Their expertise and experience can be very helpful by guiding you through the complex retirement planning.
6. REVIEW YOUR PLAN REGULARLY
As your circumstances changes, or in case if you get affected by any unforeseen condition such as a natural calamity, pandemic or any medical emergency, then you need to adjust your plan to make sure that it is going smooth. So your plan should be an up to date document that you review regularly.
7. DOWNSIZING YOUR HOME
Downsizing your home can be a good strategy to save for your retirement. By downsizing your present home and moving to a small home you can save on home mortgage, house owners insurance, maintenance charge and the property tax. But make sure that you are downsizing to a decent house which got sufficient space for you and your family.
8. DO PART TIME WORK IN RETIREMENT
If you feel like you aren't having a desired retired life or want to generate a bit more income in retirement then you can do part time work in retirement. It can be done for couple of hours a day, few examples of part time work in retirement are :
- Freelance content writing or blogging
- Pet Sitting
- Being an online tutor or taking offline classes
- Affiliate Marketing or online sales through social media platforms
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