Retirement Planning Services – Saint Charles, IL
For the people in "Generation X" - described as folks born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s - retirement planning sounds like something your parents or other "old people" would do. But you know what? With a lot of "baby boomers" either already in the midst of retirement or viewing it in the near future, "Generation X" will be the next generation of men and women to reach retirement. Sure, it's still a ways off, but people in their 30s and 40s should begin focusing their investment planning on retirement and ensuring they have the kind of retirement they are working 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 far better in some ways, and worse somewhat. However, the retirement planning for today's labor force must be far different than it was in the past.
On the bright side, people 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 greater than 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 an extended period of time right now than a generation or two back.
Social Security and Retiring - Saint Charles, IL
On the down side, Social Security will likely be a far less reliable source of income than it is now. And also the odds are slim-and getting slimmer each year-that retirees 20 and 30 years from right now will be able to rely on a work pension and enjoy lifetime benefits from their previous workplace. More and more, retired persons will need to rely on their financial savings to cover the expenses of just living and health insurance.
With people living for a longer time and needing extra money to do so, retirement planning is a vital activity even for those who are halfway to the standard retirement age of sixty-five. It can be an intimidating task to plan for a few decades into the future, especially with bills, rents and home loans to pay today, but procrastinating will not make it any easier.
Placing even just a little bit of cash into a savings account that serves as a retirement savings plan can pay off later on. The interest you receive on money in a savings account will allow your initial investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will give you a place where you can acquire capital earning a little interest rate until there is enough to invest in a reliable security which will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another solid approach which could surely and steadily build a nest egg is to invest in long-term bonds. On maturation of the bond, you will get back your initial investment along with all the interest that collected over the lifetime of the bond. This is a considerable amount of money for a 20- or 30-year bond-money which could provide a good foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is as safe an investment as you can ever make.
401K and IRA - Saint Charles, IL
Nevertheless, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning would be to put cash in a 401K plan at your workplace or in an IRA opened with an investment house. For 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 info, please don't hesitate to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we'll be happy to help you! We offer 401K and IRA rollover and review services for individuals in the Saint Charles, IL area.