Retirement Savings -Why we must plan....So many of the boomers are in denial about retirement savings -- we look towards the day we no longer have to work, and we can do whatever we care to with our day. But are we truly doing the best financial planning for retirement?Many of us to think retirement is many years away (yep, it's called DENIAL), even if we are in our 50's. It's time to think about retirement savings... I retired in 2010 at age 55. My mother is doing fine, today, at age 84. If, God Willing, I am lucky enough to live as long as my Mom, I will have THIRTY YEARS or longer in retirement! THIRTY YEARS! With life expectancies and medical advances as they are, I could easily outlive moms age. That means whatever money I have saved must last me OVER thirty years... for a new car, new frig, medical bills, whatever I might need years from now! It's really quite frightening to think you have what you have and won't really gain more (except for investment gains, assuming you get more). WOW! Listen to this kid! We know retirement is on the horizon -- 5 - 10 years away -- and yet that sounds SOOO far away. But it's not that far -- especially when you need time to discover what you'll do and how you'll survive financially in retirement. You need to consider your retirement savings, sooner (like NOW) rather than later. The need for your own retirement savings might be years away -- you may work till 60, 62, 65, whatever. Good for you if that's what you choose, and can make that your choice - but then again, you may not make it to normal retirement age! There are dozens of "What If" scenarios out there. I just want you to THINK about the possibilities -- if a year down the road, just one year, you suddenly were unable to work for whatever reason. Now -- what do you do? If you retire at 55, and are lucky enough to live to 85, you will be in retirement for thirty years! THIRTY YEARS! Yikes! Age 85 is a realistic life expectancy (although you might live to only 65, or you might live to age 95 too!). Think about your parents and grandparents, your heredity, how long did they live? Boomers tend to watch health issues more than previous generations, so we are likely to live longer (especially with medical advances). Consider this -- you may have started working at age 25, after college, and worked through age 55 (30 years) and then retire and live to age 85 (another 30 years). That basically means that your retirement years could EASILY be as long as your employment years! That's why you need some savings... even more than your parents or grandparents. OK, so reality hits – the median value of U.S. Retirement accounts (IRA's, 401K's, etc) for employees age 65-74 was $77,000 in 2007. Those are folks right at retirement's door! Yikes!
The U.S. Department of Labor has an Retirement Savings Education Campaign to get Americans to save more for retirement. Learn more at the link and SAVE! Finally – Start Saving Early! There are so many reasons so start saving early... your money compounds so nicely over many years, and you start saving while you learn to live without those few dollars every week. You won't even miss them if you always put aside a small amount (just as if you were forced into a mandatory employee deduction by your employer as I was). Start saving early – before homes, mortgages, kids, college... The other possibilities (and there are many more scenarios) – You are involved in a Divorce at Retirement, or Disability Retirement Happens! When you least expect it, life is rolling along just fine – and WHAM! Divorce takes half of your pension.. done! You have an injury or illness the stops you from working – maybe even permanently. Now what? You have no income to save... you can barely make ends meet, and you might live with this reduced pension for the next 20-30 years! WE MUST PLAN! Lots of retirement thoughts here so you can keep on top of your retirement investment planning! New! CommentsPlease consider leaving your two cents... questions and comments about what you just read! It only takes one retirees thoughts to help another retiree... |
| |
| Early Retirement | ||||||
| Pre Retirement Advice | ||||||
| After Retirement Help | ||||||
| Divorce at Retirement | ||||||
| Retirement Hobbies | ||||||
| Senior Housing | ||||||
| Retirement & Money |
Online Rocks! Retirees Helping Retirees! Sometimes your two cents can make a difference in someone's life! |
 |
Free Mega Ebook:
20+ Free Ebooks Inside. Download or print any or
all of them, just click!
| Too Young to Retire  |
|
