Retirement Planning – Villa Park, Illinois
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 guess what? With lots 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 people to reach retirement. Sure, it is a ways off, but people in their 30s and 40s need to begin centering their investment planning on retirement and making sure they have the type of retirement they are working hard to have. Below are great tips on preparing for retirement:
Retirement life in the foreseeable future will be different than the retirement right now. It will be far better in some ways, and worse somewhat. But, the retirement planning for today's workforce needs to be far different than it was in days gone by.
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 4 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 ago.
Social Security and Retirement - Villa Park, Illinois
On the down side, Social Security is going to be a far less dependable income source than it is now. And 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 former employer. More and more, retired people will have to depend on their savings to pay for the costs of living and health insurance.
With people living longer and needing more money to do so, retirement planning is an essential 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 couple of decades into the future, especially with bills, housing costs and mortgages to pay today, but procrastinating won't make it any easier.
Putting even just a small amount of money now into a savings account which functions as a retirement savings plan can pay off in the future. The interest you get on money in a savings account will allow your preliminary investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will supply a place where you can build up capital earning a small interest rate until there is enough to invest in a reliable security that will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another solid strategy that can certainly and gradually build a nest egg is to invest in long-term bonds. After maturation of the bond, you will get back your initial investment along with all the interest which collected over the lifetime of the bond. That's a significant amount of money for a 20- or 30-year bond-money that can provide a great foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is really as safe an investment that you can ever make.
401K and IRA - Villa Park, Illinois
Nevertheless, 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 isn't a retirement planning option, an IRA is the next best thing. Money put in this account is tax deferred and might be tax-deductible, depending on how much is invested annually.
For more info, please do not hesitate 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 individuals in the Villa Park, Illinois area.
