Retirement Planning – Shorewood, Illinois
For the people in "Generation X" - defined 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 lots of "baby boomers" either already in the midst of retirement or observing it on the horizon, "Generation X" is the next generation of men and women to reach old age. Sure, it is a ways off, but those in their 30s and 40s really need to start focusing their investment planning on retirement and ensuring they've got the type of retirement they are working so hard to have. Here are some tips on preparing for retirement:
Retirement life in the future will be different than the retirement of today. It'll be far better in some ways, and worse in some ways. However, the retirement planning for today's workforce must be far different than it was in yesteryear.
On the bright side, folks 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 time of time now than a generation or two ago.
Social Security and Retirement - Shorewood, Illinois
On the downside, Social Security is going to be a far less reliable source of income than it is now. And the odds are slim-and getting slimmer each 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. More and more, retirees will have to rely on their financial savings to pay for the costs of living and health insurance.
With people living for a longer time and needing more cash to do so, retirement planning is an essential activity even for those people who are half way to the common retirement age of sixty-five. It could be a daunting task to plan for a couple of decades into the future, especially with bills, rents and mortgages to pay right now, but procrastinating will not make it any less difficult.
Putting even just a small amount of cash into a savings account which works as a retirement savings plan can pay off in the future. The interest you receive on money in a savings account will allow your preliminary investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will offer a place where you can pile up capital earning a small interest rate until there's enough to invest in a trusted security which will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another solid strategy which could certainly and steadily build a nest egg is to put money into long-term bonds. Upon maturation of the bond, you'll get back your initial investment along with all the interest which collected over the life of the bond. That's 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 as safe an investment as you can ever make.
401K and IRA - Shorewood, Illinois
Nevertheless, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning would be to put funds in a 401K plan at work or in an IRA opened with an investment house. For those for whom a 401K isn't a retirement planning option, an IRA is the next best thing. Money put in this account is tax deferred and may be tax-deductible, depending on how much is invested annually.
For more information, please feel free 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 folks in the Shorewood, Illinois area.
