Retirment Ready
Are you retirement ready? Do you ever wonder if you’ll have enough to retire comfortably? You may be surprised by how much it will take to live your retirement in the future at the same standard of living as today.
Questions To Ask About Your Retirement Readiness
- How much do I need to save to retire at the same standard of living that I have today?
- How long do I need to work to be able to retire and have my money last through my life expectancy?
- What rate of return do I need to earn on my savings to have my money last through my life expectancy?
- If I don’t do anything different than I am doing today, how much will I have to reduce my standard of living at retirement for my money to last to my life expectancy?
Watch this video, Retirement Ready or Not?
How Well Are You Prepared for Retirement?
| These factors will help determine your retirement readiness. Current Income = This value is used to help determine your needed desired gross income at retirement. You can lower this amount to project a more conservative lifestyle. Accumulated Savings = Beginning Accumulated Savings and Investment Asset Balances. Taxation, Risk and Accessibility options may affect calculated taxes and asset placement. Annual Savings = The amount you are saving for retirement each year. You can choose to inflate this number if you plan to increase your annual savings amount at a rate equal to inflation. Rate Assumptions = The Accumulation Growth Rate is applied to assets during the accumulation (working) years. The Distribution Growth Rate is applied during the distribution period (retirement). Tax Rate = The effective tax rate used to estimate your potential tax liability on taxable income, growth and withdrawals. Desired Legacy = The desired asset balance remaining at the end of life (which could be left to heirs, charities, or other specified interests). COLA = Cost of Living Adjustment. Indicates that retirement lifestyle should be increased to keep up with inflation – thus maintaining a level expected standard of living. Defined Benefits = Other benefits may be used to include any expected income stream into your projections. Examples include: pensions, Social Security benefits, structured income streams from the sale of a business or property, annuitizations, etc. |
What Can You Do to Prepare for Retirement?
After calculating your retirement readiness, you may determine that you’re not quite ready to retire, or you’re not on the right path. You could find that you’re taking unnecessary risks today that will reduce your future lifestyle. However, if you take action, you may be able to reduce your risks and make changes to your retirement projection.
We may be able to adjust these factors during our working years to better prepare for retirement.
- Spend Less
- Work Longer
- Save More
- Increase ROR
- Reduce Taxes
- Change Inflation
Of course we have little control over uncertainties in life, like inflation and taxes. However, we can control where we save, store and spend our capital, which will best determine our lifestyles during retirement.
If in working together, I could help you identify the areas of expense loss and return that money to you that will allow you to increase contributions to your personal savings and investment account, run more money through your company, or increase your present lifestyle and solidify your future lifestyle while at the same time reducing your risk, would that be of interest?
If you’d like to calculate your retirement readiness in realtime, schedule a consultation.
Until next time,
Barry Page
Barry Page is recognized as a leading expert on finance and life insurance. He is a an independent life insurance agent who helps clients with alternatives to traditional banking and investing.
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