Retirement Planning Services – Willow Springs, Illinois
For the people in "Generation X" - described as individuals born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s - retirement planning sounds like something your mother and father or other "old people" would do. But you know what? With a lot of "baby boomers" either already in the middle of retirement or observing it in the near future, "Generation X" is the next generation of men and women to reach retirement. Sure, it is a ways off, but people in their 30s and 40s need to start centering 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 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 the past.
On the bright side, people are living longer than ever. As of a short while 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 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 in the past.
Social Security and Retirement - Willow Springs, Illinois
On the down side, Social Security is going to be a far less dependable source of income 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 former employer. Increasingly more, retired persons will have to rely on their savings to cover the costs of living and health insurance.
With people living for a longer time and needing extra money to do so, retirement planning is an essential activity even for those who are halfway to the regular retirement age of sixty-five. It may be an intimidating task to plan for a few decades into the future, especially with bills, housing costs and mortgages to pay right now, but procrastinating will not 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 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 little interest rate until there's enough to invest in a trusted security that will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another solid approach that can certainly and progressively build a nest egg is to invest in 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 lifetime of the bond. That's a significant amount of money for a 20- or 30-year bond-money that can 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 With Retirement - Willow Springs, Illinois
Nevertheless, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning is to put money in a 401K plan at work or in an IRA opened with an investment house. For people for whom a 401K isn't a retirement planning choice, 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 every year.
For more info, 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 Willow Springs, Illinois area.
