Many people today live to work and when their working years are over the loose all purpose in life and die shortly thereafter. How much better it would be if their plan for the future had taken into account a meaningful life in retirement. If our financial planning for retirement fails to provide a reason to go on living when our first careers have ended, the result is often tragic. The purpose or goal that you hope to achieve will keep you focused and help you stick to your financial plan. No matter what your status in life - if you come from a family with money and will benefit from a large inheritance one day or if your family has nothing and you work hard every day to get by deciding what you want to get out of life will help you establish your own financial plan and happily stick with it. History has proven that the love of money and material wealth and the constant striving after that shatters lives. It definitely gives no one a purpose for living. There are some extremely wealthy people whose main goal was not to simply make lots of money. Bill Gates, for example, has shown that his goal is to make a difference in the world around him. That purpose has made him successful and he enjoys his success because the focus for him was not only to attain wealth. We must acknowledge that millions benefit when wealthy people are motivated to use their millions or billions to help others. We cannot deny the positive impact that has on the world. Bill Gates has a goal for his golden years - a second career goal. This is the secret of successful financial planning for retirement. We need a purpose to live for when we leave our careers. If you are not sure what you want out of life and what goals you want to accomplish give that some serious thought. Make a commitment to yourself to determine what you want for your future and then start developing a plan to help you get it.
When the time comes to prepare for retirement, your quality of life is much better when you have a nest egg to supplement social security. Retirement living is much more enjoyable when you are able to travel, visit relatives, and see those places that you have always wanted visit. The best approach in planning for retirement is with a company matched 401K plan. The primary benefit is the ability to transfer a 401K to a new employer if and when you change jobs, a key flexibility if this program. Also employers match up to a certain percentage of your investment unlike an IRA.
No one thinks about retirement and their wills, especially when you are young. You have your whole life before you and the last thing on your mind is retirement living; much less a will. When you are young wills are not important because everyone knows that they are invincible at that age range. As you move up the age bracket these items become much more important. Retirement and wills go hand-in-hand with each other and are extremely important. If you do not have a will, your estate will be tired up in probate court for up to 6 months and the only people who wind up with your estate are lawyers.
When retiring from your company, check to see if they hire their retirees as independent contractors. Many companies do that today to keep skilled workers in their labor force without the associated high labor costs. Some people who seek some sort of work as a after retirement chose something completely outside their previous experiences. They do this for a change of pace from their life long occupation. Most people in their retirement living stage have gained many life skills that can be put to good use as a retired person. This can lead to working sales in a concession stand for a while and then jumping to operating rides at an amusement park.
As you are getting ready to retire, you and your spouse have decided to relocate to a retirement living community so that you can be around people more your age. This is good choice today, because the selection of retirement communities is increasing everyday and has become big business. As the baby boomers move into retirement age there has been a huge demand for communities that provide facilities that represent the life style they were accustom prior to retirement. The retirement communities being built today have walking tracks, indoor gyms, libraries, tennis courts, swimming pools, and more.
Do not forget about social security, the earlier you retire the greater the impact on your monthly income. Social security takes the average of your top 35 years to determine your monthly income. So if you retire to soon and only have 25 years of work and 10 years of zeros, your monthly income will be greatly reduced. Also if you retire at 62 your monthly income will be as much as 20% less than what you would have received if you retired at your normal retirement age. These factors need to be considered along with the cost of living index that increases every year. All these factors need to be taken into consideration when moving into that retirement living stage of your life.
Both William Blake & Jeff Moore are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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