Retirement Planning – Wayne
For anyone in "Generation X" - described as individuals born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s - retirement planning seems like something your parents or other "old people" might do. But guess what? With lots of "baby boomers" either already in the middle of retirement or looking at it in the near future, "Generation X" stands out as the next generation of people to reach retirement. Sure, it's still a ways off, but those in their 30s and 40s ought to start centering their investment planning on retirement and ensuring they have the type 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 in some ways. But, the retirement planning for today's labor force must 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 over 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 period of time now than a generation or two back.
Social Security and Retirement - Wayne
On the downside, Social Security will likely be a far less reliable source of income than it is 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 former workplace. Increasingly more, retired persons will have to rely on their savings to cover the expenses of living and medical health insurance.
With folks living longer and needing more money to do so, retirement planning is an essential activity even for those who are halfway to the common retirement age of 65. It may be a daunting task to plan for a few decades into the future, especially with bills, housing costs and mortgages to pay today, but procrastinating won't make it any less complicated.
Placing even just a little bit of money now into a savings account which functions 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 build 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 solid strategy that could certainly and steadily build a nest egg is to put money into long-term bonds. After maturation of the bond, you will get back your initial investment as well as all the interest which collected over the life of the bond. This is a tremendous amount of money for a 20- or 30-year bond-money that could 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 - Wayne
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 those for whom a 401K is not 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 don't hesitate to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we'll be happy to help you! We provide 401K and IRA rollover and review services for folks in the Wayne area.
