Enjoy Retirement

You’ve worked hard all your life to get to this point, but preparing not to work can be a lot of work! It can be hard living on a relatively fixed income in a fluctuating market. Financial experts say you’ll probably need somewhere between 70-80% of your pre-retirement annual income to live comfortably in retirement. Being prepared for this is the best way to make sure you get to enjoy retirement instead of worrying about it.

A while before you retire you should map out a game plan. Do you know where you’ll live? Do you want to travel or stay put? If you stay put what will you do with your time? Will you volunteer for your favorite charity organization or hang out with your grandkids?

When you get closer to retirement, speak to your financial professional to decide if, when and how to migrate your investments to a more conservative portfolio. A financial professional can help you figure out the best way to spend your assets. People are living longer these days, so you want to make sure you can retire the way you want.

Right before retirement you need to get all your ducks in a row. Streamline your finances and rethink your budget. Think about must haves, want to haves, and nice to haves, and repositioning your portfolio to a more conservative stance. Plan your income sources. What part of your investment portfolio will you withdraw from? Mitigate the impact of taxes as much as possible.

Once you’ve recovered from your retirement party, you need to start withdrawing carefully, watching your portfolio closely, and making adjustments to your investment mix as needed.

Think long term. If you plan your savings and investment strategy properly and early enough you might be able to give yourself a raise. Most importantly, enjoy!