Retirement Planning – Lombard, Illinois
For those in "Generation X" - described as folks born between the mid-1960s and also the early 1980s - retirement planning sounds like something your mother and father or other "old people" would do. But you know what? With a lot of "baby boomers" either already in the middle of retirement or viewing it in the near future, "Generation X" will be the next generation of individuals to reach retirement. Sure, it is still a ways off, but those in their 30s and 40s will need to begin focusing their investment planning on retirement and ensuring they've got the type of retirement they are working so hard to enjoy. Here are some tips on preparing for retirement:
Retirement life in the future will be different than the retirement right now. It will be much better in some ways, and worse in some ways. But, the retirement planning for today's workforce needs to be far different than it was in earlier times.
On the bright side, folks are living longer than ever. As of a few years ago, the average life span of an American was 77.9 years, exactly 2.5 years over the average life span in 1990 and more than four 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 - Lombard, Illinois
On the down side, Social Security will likely be a far less trustworthy source of income compared to 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 employer. Increasingly more, retired people will need to depend on their financial savings to cover the expenses of just living and health insurance.
With folks living for a longer time and needing extra money to do so, retirement planning is an essential activity even for those people who are half way to the regular retirement age of sixty-five. It may be an intimidating task to plan for a few decades into the future, particularly with bills, rents and mortgages to pay today, but procrastinating won't make it any less difficult.
Putting even just a little bit of money now into a savings account that works as a retirement savings plan can pay off later. The interest you get on money in a savings account will allow your preliminary investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will give you a place where you can pile up capital earning a small interest rate until there is enough to invest in a trusted security which will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another good approach which could certainly and steadily build a nest egg is to put money into long-term bonds. After maturation of the bond, you'll get back your initial investment along with 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 which could provide a great foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is really as safe an investment as you can ever make.
401K and IRA - Lombard, Illinois
Nonetheless, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning is to put money in a 401K plan at your workplace or in an IRA opened with an investment house. For the people for whom a 401K is not a retirement planning option, 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 feel free to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we will be happy to help you! We provide 401K and IRA rollover and review services for folks in the Lombard, Illinois area.
