Creating a Retirement Plan

It is never too early to start creating a retirement plan. The earlier you start, the more secure your future can feel.

But where do I start? Here are a few questions to ask yourself about what you may want in retirement.

What does your future-self want in retirement?

•  Early retirement in your 50s?

• A cabin or lake home?

• A RV lifestyle – nomad living?

• Moving to Arizona or Florida to a retirement community?

• Staying in your house as long as possible?

• Lots of travel?

As you get older, it is prudent to have a retirement plan to fall back on. Things may change later due to unforeseen circumstances, but it is helpful to have a game plan going into your 50s, 60s and beyond. A good retirement plan ensures you have enough resources for your future needs.

A large part of your retirement plan should include monetary items like savings in a 401K savings plan, IRAs, CDs or Money Markets and a Health Savings Account (HSA) to name a few. A financial planner can help with the specifics of these items.

Here are a few financial questions to ask yourself:

• What are my financial goals? How do I find the means necessary to accomplish them?

- Identify your sources of income

- Estimate future expenses

- Develop a saving program

- Manage assets and risks

• What do I envision my retirement lifestyle to be?

- Description of my planned retirement lifestyle

- What it will cost?

- Potential sources of retirement income'

- Ways of accumulating assets to generate my necessary income

• How much money will I need? Know your numbers (again, a financial planner can assist you with this):

- Develop a spending strategy

- Calculate your net worth

• When do you want to stop working?  62, 65, later or earlier? Retirement age does affect your finances. You may want to have a part-time job when you retire, but make sure you know your limits of income so it does not affect your Social Security.

• When should I start taking Social Security? (Once again, a financial planner can help determine this and there are also Social Security calculators online that can help you figure this out.)

But there are still more things to a retirement plan than just the financial piece. What are your wishes?

Some of the questions to ask yourself are:

1.      Do my kids or executor of my estate know what I want done when I die? This includes funeral arrangements, cremation, where to be buried or donating your body to science. Many people preplan and prepay their funerals to make it easier on their children and to make sure their wishes are in place.

2.      Do my kids or executor know where I keep my important papers?

3.      Do I have a will? A will ensures that your wishes are followed.

4.      Do I have a living will, sometimes called an advance healthcare directive. This determines how decisions/wishes are made about your medical care during your lifetime if you are unable to speak for yourself.

5.      Do I need a trust?

6.      Do I have a spreadsheet with account numbers, logins, and passwords?

7.      Do I have a sheet with names of my attorney, CPAs,  trustees, churches, and other charities contact information – what do I want to go to charities? Some of these items may be included in your will.

8.      Do I have a list of who I want to get what? Some people want certain items to go to specific children, friends, or charities. Things like who gets Aunt Bernice’s silver? Some of these items may also be included in your will.

9.      Where are the safe deposit box keys? You may want to add your child’s name/executor to the deposit box at the bank or add this information to one of your spreadsheet lists.

10.  How long do I want to keep driving?

11.  Do I want to move?

12.  How can I get my house ready to live in as I age?

13.  Do I want to go to an assisted living facility? What are my options?

 If this is all overwhelming to you, here is how SENIOR LIFE MANAGEMENT can help you:

• Senior Life Management can help you navigate some of these upcoming, inevitable changes. For example:

- We can help you get started.  We can be a starting point to help you PLAN what needs to be done, from start to finish.

- We can also provide handyman services and senior home repair to get your home ready to sell, or get your house ready to age in place – whatever you envision for your future.

- We can also assist you with estate management and bring someone on board to work with attorneys, business partners, family offices, advisors to help you manage their estate (from their personal property to second or third homes, investment properties, business management, and acquisitions).

• And, if it is time to downsize and start going through your treasures, Sort Toss Pack, our moving company, can help you organize, downsize, or pack and move. And if you use this service, you can consign your items to sell in our retail store, Odds & Ends Again.

• And finally, our Senior Life Management brokerage services company can also help sell your house and help you find more suitable living arrangements, if needed. They can also do a complete home buyout if that is what you wish to do.

 Call us today to start a conversation (952-431-1095) or check out our website, SeniorLifeManagement.net.

 Again, being proactive can save you some stress later and having a plan in place can give you peace of mind.

 We want to help make your senior life manageable and as stress-free as possible.

Senior Life Management