Retirement Planning – Hanover Park, IL
For anyone in "Generation X" - defined as people born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s - retirement planning may sound like something your parents or other "old people" would do. But you know what? With lots of "baby boomers" either already in the midst of retirement or observing it in the near future, "Generation X" stands out as the next generation of people to reach retirement. Sure, it's still a ways off, but those in their 30s and 40s really need to start focusing their investment planning on retirement and making sure they've got the kind of retirement they are working so hard to enjoy. Below are great tips on preparing for retirement:
Retirement life in the future will be different than the retirement of today. It will likely be far better in some ways, and worse in some ways. But, the retirement planning for today's labor force needs to be far different than it was in yesteryear.
On the bright side, people are living longer than ever. As of not too long ago, the average life span of an American was 77.9 years, exactly 2.5 years more than the average life span in 1990 and more than 4 years more than the average life span in 1980. So investment planning for retirement has to account for a longer period of time now than a generation or two back.
Social Security and Retirement - Hanover Park, IL
On the down side, Social Security will likely be a far less reliable income source than it is now. And also the likelihood is slim-and getting slimmer every year-that retirees 20 and 30 years from now will be able to rely on a work pension and enjoy lifetime benefits from their previous workplace. Increasingly more, retired persons will need to rely on their financial savings to pay for the costs of just living and health insurance.
With folks living for a longer time and needing more money to do so, retirement planning is an essential activity even for those people who are halfway to the regular retirement age of 65. It can be a daunting task to plan for a few decades into the future, particularly with bills, housing costs and mortgages to pay right now, but procrastinating won't make it any easier.
Placing even just a small amount of money now into a savings account that functions as a retirement savings plan can pay off in the future. The interest you receive on money in a savings account will allow your initial investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will supply a place where you can pile up capital earning a little interest rate until there's enough to invest in a trusted security that will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another solid strategy that could certainly and steadily build a nest egg is to invest in long-term bonds. Upon maturation of the bond, you will get back your initial investment as well as all the interest that collected over the life of the bond. This is a considerable amount of money for a 20- or 30-year bond-money that could provide a nice foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is as safe an investment as you can ever make.
401K and IRA - Hanover Park, IL
Nonetheless, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning would be to put money in a 401K plan at work or in an IRA opened with an investment house. For the people for whom a 401K is not a retirement planning choice, an IRA is the next best thing. Money put into this account is tax deferred and may be tax-deductible, depending on how much is invested each year.
For more information, please don't hesitate to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we will be glad to help you! We offer 401K and IRA rollover and review services for individuals in the Hanover Park, IL area.
