Retirement Planning Company – Skokie, Illinois
For the people in "Generation X" - defined as people 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 lots of "baby boomers" either already in the midst of retirement or viewing it in the near future, "Generation X" stands out as the next generation of people to reach old age. Sure, it is still a ways off, but people in their 30s and 40s will need to start focusing their investment planning on retirement and making sure they have the sort of retirement they are working hard to have. Here are some tips on planning for retirement:
Retirement life in the foreseeable future will be different than the retirement of today. It will likely be far better in some ways, and worse somewhat. But, the retirement planning for today's labor force needs to be far different than it was in days gone by.
On the bright side, individuals 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 a longer period of time now than a generation or two ago.
Social Security and Retirement - Skokie, Illinois
On the downside, Social Security will likely be a far less reliable income source than it is now. And also the odds are 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. More and more, retirees will have to depend on their savings to pay for the expenses of living and medical health insurance.
With individuals living longer 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 may be an intimidating 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.
Putting even just a little bit of money now into a savings account which works as a retirement savings plan can pay off in the future. The interest you get on money in a savings account will allow your initial investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will provide a place where you can accumulate 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 that can certainly and gradually build a nest egg is to put money into long-term bonds. On maturation of the bond, you'll get back your initial investment and also 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 that can provide a nice foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is really as safe an investment as you can ever make.
401K and IRA With Retirement - Skokie, Illinois
Nonetheless, 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 the people 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 each year.
For more info, please don't hesitate to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we will be happy to help you! We offer 401K and IRA rollover and review services for folks in the Skokie, Illinois area.
