Despite being more educated and financially empowered than in past generations, many women still feel insecure when it comes to retirement strategies and their financial future.
While more and more women are responsible for handling their family finances, it can be overwhelming for anyone to weigh all of the options and make the decisions that are required when planning for retirement income and for leaving a legacy.
It’s not just women, of course, that feel insecure about their strategy for retirement. But women do face some special challenges when they are preparing for their financial futures. First, women are living longer than ever before — thanks in part to preventive healthcare becoming a larger focus for women of all ages1.
Women, like many pre-retirees, tend to have retirement strategies that don’t reflect the increase in life expectancy2. Men have that same problem, but it can be more problematic for women because with an even longer life expectancy, women face an even greater scale of retirement income shortfall.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women tend to live almost five years longer than men1. That’s a lot of retirement income that will be needed and if, like some women, they have not taken an active role in their retirement preparation, they may be forced to live with the financial decisions made by their husband even after he’s gone.
Many financial services professionals have female clients who have reported facing a retirement strategy dilemma at one point in their life. It’s very common, and some of the same drawbacks plague women as they prepare for, and then live in retirement.
Let’s look at four of the most common drawbacks, and consider how a financial services professional can help you navigate them.
1. Not understanding the source of your advice.
It is crucial to know where you are getting your financial advice and understand the motives behind the person giving the advice. Trust and respect are important factors in deciding what professional they choose. By educating yourself on the options available, you can ensure you find a true financial professional partner in life.
2. Failing to allocate your assets appropriately.
One of the important factors in retirement strategy is allocating assets appropriate to risk tolerance, income needs and legacy desires — yet many people overlook changes that should be made as you near retirement age.
Strategic allocation ensures diversification based on your unique risk tolerance. Diversification is the key to risk management and is a critical component to your overall financial strategy. The simple way of putting this is: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It is important to note that diversification cannot guarantee a profit or protect against a loss.
3. Failing to take advantage of stretch options, which provide a greater legacy to your loved ones.
With the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Congress passed a law that allows multi-generational distributions for Individual Retirement Account (IRA) assets3.
Non-spousal beneficiaries must generally take distributions from their inherited IRAs, whether transferred or not, within five years after the death of the IRA owner. But an exception to this rule applies if the beneficiary elects to take distributions over his or her lifetime, often referred to as “stretching” the IRA. You can stretch IRA distributions throughout yours, your children’s and your grandchildren’s lifetimes.
- Failing to prepare for legacy planning.
When planning your legacy, some good questions to ask yourself include:
- Are your beneficiary forms up to date?
- Do you know where your important documents are located?
- Do you have primary and contingent beneficiaries?
- Do you know what benefits are available to you from the Social Security Administration?
- Have you initiated important estate planning documents?
- Does it allow the multi-generational payout?
If there is one rule more important than any other when it comes to legacy planning, it is this: Your beneficiary designation forms control how your assets are distributed, so you need to keep those forms up to date. This is true for retirement plans, annuities, life insurance, and other non-probate assets. You need to review the beneficiary designations at least every couple of years or when there is a major life event.
Everyone can benefit from avoiding the drawbacks that can sidetrack you on the path to retirement. But for women, whose life expectancies generally mean they’ll be in retirement loner than men, it’s even more important.
Contact your financial services professional to discuss how you can prepare for retirement and its many twists in turns.
1 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db328.htm
2https://www.forbes.com/sites/jbrewer/2018/08/21/use-planning-to-overcome-the-risks-to-womens-retirement/#16acab9f3bba
3 https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxreformact1986.asp
WHAT YOU MAY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ANNUITIES
Annuities: You’ve probably heard of them before and some of you might be quite familiar with annuities as a retirement income option.
Because they can be confusing and have many different options, it can help to have some information that simplifies the concept of an annuity.
First of all, what is an annuity?
An annuity is an insurance product you can purchase that may promise a certain level of income for life. Some reasons people purchase annuities are to generate lifetime income, grow tax-deferred retirement savings, and provide a legacy for their heirs.
How do annuities work?
You pay money into the insurance company, and in return you receive an income stream specified by the contract. Alternatively, you may elect not to take periodic income payments — enabling interest to accumulate within the annuity — and then withdraw a lump sum at the end of the contract period.
There are also tax benefits to an annuity. Money grows tax-deferred within the annuity, meaning you pay no tax on the earnings until you take them out. And unlike 401(k) plans and IRAs, there is no annual limit on the amount you can put in a non-qualified annuity.
What types of annuities are available?
There are several different types of annuities and a wide variety of riders you can add for different functions.
A fixed rate annuity has a stated rate of return and no loss of principal due to market downturns. A fixed indexed annuity has a rate of return that may be linked to an external market index (like the S&P 500), but still may offer a minimum rate of return and no loss of principal or interest credits if the market index declines. So, if the market index rises, interest is credited to the annuity.
A variable annuity offers a choice of investment sub-accounts, similar to the choices in a 401(k). This provides a chance to earn higher returns than a fixed annuity or fixed indexed annuity but with greater risks, including potential loss of principal. There are also choices based on when you want to start taking income from an annuity. Just as the name suggests, an immediate annuity starts paying you income very soon after you buy it.
A deferred annuity doesn’t start paying income until a point you designate in the future. In the meantime, your money earns a rate of return that’s rolled up, or added, to the account and income value within your annuity. In fact, you don’t ever have to take income out of the annuity, if you don’t need it. The money can keep growing, tax-deferred.
Now let’s look at caveats — the due diligence you need to do before making a financial commitment. Is it right for you? Annuities aren’t for everyone. You need to be certain an annuity is right for you, and after that which annuity is the right choice for your retirement needs.
One thing to be aware of is that annuities may charge fees in some instances. The fees can vary tremendously based on the kind of annuity you buy, the riders you add and the company offering it.
Another thing to understand is that annuities are a long-term commitment and they are primarily designed for retirement income. If you take an early withdrawal, you may incur a surrender charge. Additionally, if you take funds out before the age of 59½, there may be an additional 10 percent IRS penalty.
The insurance company, not the government, guarantees your annuity, so it is recommended that you check out their financial strength by going online to independent ratings agencies such as AM Best, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s.
For some people, annuities can be a source of income in retirement. To determine if an annuity is right for you, it can help to contact a financial services professional.
Why Phased Retirements Can Be Hard To Pull Off
A traditional retirement is the culmination of a lifetime of work and is, typically, a person’s permanent withdrawal from working. A phased retirement is the gradual reduction of working hours, giving employers and employees the opportunity to adjust to a new working reality over a period of time.
Often, when a worker leaves employment, for retirement or another reason, there is a chaotic period of adjustment. A phased retirement or flexible work arrangements can help alleviate some of that chaos. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, though. Though some employers share a mutual interest with employees to phase retirements, many don’t have the systems in place to pull it off.
MarketWatch.com addressed this in an article titled, “Why are employers so bad at phased retirement?” The article explores some ways companies can offer phased retirement to employees, and some reasons that it doesn’t work for certain companies.
USING THE TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL TEAMS…
First, let’s discuss some of the ways companies phase retirements. MarketWatch.com cites a program that permits employees aged 55 years or older and who have at least 10 years of work history to cut their hours by 20 percent. That includes a corresponding 20-percent cut in pay, but permits the employee to keep their health insurance and pension accrual benefits.
Another program permits employees aged 60 and older who have at least five years of work history with the company to reduce their hours by anywhere from 20 percent to 50 percent. Employees could reduce their hours by even more if they’re willing to lose their health insurance benefits.
Yet another employer permits workers 55 and older with seven years of service to negotiate their own “glide path” to retirement — like a paraglider slowly heading toward a landing, moving from full-time employment to full retirement, while retaining benefits. There was yet another company cited in the MarketWatch.com article that permits any employee to switch to less stressful or complex duties or phase to part-time work — all the while, retaining health insurance if they work at least 25 hours a week.
So, there are many different types of phased retirement options, and it’s not hard to imagine companies being able to find a customizable solution that would work for them. That said, it’s simply not something that we’re seeing a lot of companies do.
Over time, I believe that more and more employers will offer phased retirement options. The MarketWatch.com article references a WillisTowersWatson.com report entitled “Working Late – Managing the Wave of U.S. Retirement.” In that report, 83 percent of the employers surveyed said that a significant number of their workers are nearing retirement. 54 percent of those employers believe that the loss of talent and experience from workers retiring will be one of the most significant labor challenges of the next five years.
It certainly can be a challenge to replace any experienced worker — much less a number of them at the same time. In fact, in the Willis Towers Watson report, they cite approximately four out of five employers ranked “orderly transfer of knowledge of the organization” as the number one concern when it comes to managing retiring employees. The report also cited that 60 percent of the employers felt that erratic retirements impact workplace productivity, and nearly one-third mentioned roadblocks to younger workers’ promotions as another concern. These concerns were nearly universal among younger and older aged workforces.
So it’s clear that most businesses, regardless of the age of their workforce, have some large concerns about how retirement is going to impact them2. Phased retirements could be a solution that could alleviate some of those concerns.
There’s another important discrepancy between employers’ impressions of their employees’ needs and how the employees view their own needs — and it’s the likelihood that employees have enough savings to retire. Willis Towers Watson reports that 71 percent of employers believe most of their workers who are nearing retirement age likely have enough. More than half of the employees themselves, though, said that they have financial concerns that could delay their retirement.
In fact, many of the respondents expected to have to delay retirement into their seventies. This, again, illustrates how phased retirements could find a middle ground between an employer’s needs and those of their employees. From an employer’s perspective, it could address one of their biggest staffing concerns: losing knowledgeable, experienced employees. And from an employee’s perspective, it could provide the financial assistance necessary to feel confident approaching retirement.
Talking about your unique situation with a financial services professional can be a helpful way to determine if you will want, or need, to consider a phased retirement.
USING THE TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL TEAMS TO PREPARE FOR RETIREMENT
The path to success can be very different for everyone, but successful teams — in sports, in business or even your team at home — often have similar traits and abilities.
CNBC’s Elle Kaplan reviewed a five-year-long Google study on maximizing effectiveness and analyzed the results in her article, “Google found the most successful teams share these 5 traits.” 1
I thought it could be helpful to review the five characteristics of great teams she identified and then we discuss how these traits can be used to influence your retirement preparation. Google, which we all know is a worldwide leader in technology and innovation, executed the research project under the name Project Aristotle. The study produced some interesting results.
The first of the five traits discussed in the CNBC article is likely the hardest trait to achieve: Psychological Safety¹.
Psychological safety is personal, and different for each person. When people feel comfortable in their group, they’re more willing to take risks and share information or ideas without fear of being mocked or embarrassed.
When it comes to your retirement preparation, this can translate to you choosing a situation that allows you to be an equal participant in the development of your retirement strategy. Ensuring you’re on the same page with your spouse and/or financial services professional is a step in the right direction.
The next trait mentioned in the study is Dependability.
In successful teams, each member has a specific role and knows their part of the bigger picture. The entire team knows the plan and the big picture goal. This allows each member of the team to strive for a common goal.
When you think of your financial picture, think of your investments, 401(k), pension, and Social Security all as members of your team. They each have a role in your retirement. Especially when it comes to your income. What will each of them provide you on a monthly basis? Is it capable of covering your expenses? Is there a gap that needs to be addressed?
Each part of your financial life plays a role in your financial security. The team is all working toward the same goal. A concrete plan can give you the transparency needed to identify if there is any gap. Once you know what you might be missing or lacking in income, then you can take steps to address the situation.
That plan will help them deal with potential changes or fluctuations in their personal economy. It fits nicely with the next trait: Structure and Clarity¹.
Clear communication and goals are essential to successful teams. Working with your financial services professional and defining your goals can help you work toward those goals.
I believe the last two traits from the Project Aristotle study are tied together. The last two traits are Meaning¹ and Impact ¹.
Meaning can be a sense of purpose or perceiving value in the work itself. And meaning is different for each of us.
The value could be teamwork, creativity or simply financial. On the other hand, impact is more about the results of the work; the end result.
To assess how you feel about meaning and impact, I suggest asking yourself a few questions. You can start with these: What are your dreams and goals? What do you hope to do, see and achieve? What does retirement mean to you?
Financial security, supporting family, helping the team succeed, or self-expression are all great options for meaning. It’s quite likely that for many individuals’ true meaning comes in some combination of those, plus so many more possibilities. Regardless of the details or ingredients to your meaning, that meaning puts the entire retirement journey into a uniquely personal perspective.
I believe all this equates to your legacy — what you will leave behind. That doesn’t necessarily only mean money or inheritance. The time that you spend and then memories that you create are just as important as, if not more important than, your financial legacy. The members of your team (in this case, your retirement strategy) may benefit from working together.
A financial services professional can help you build a team that will work toward your goals.
Four Drawbacks that Can Sidetrack Women on the Path to Retirement
Despite being more educated and financially empowered than in past generations, many women still feel insecure when it comes to retirement strategies and their financial future.
While more and more women are responsible for handling their family finances, it can be overwhelming for anyone to weigh all of the options and make the decisions that are required when planning for retirement income and for leaving a legacy.
It’s not just women, of course, that feel insecure about their strategy for retirement. But women do face some special challenges when they are preparing for their financial futures. First, women are living longer than ever before — thanks in part to preventive healthcare becoming a larger focus for women of all ages1.
Women, like many pre-retirees, tend to have retirement strategies that don’t reflect the increase in life expectancy2. Men have that same problem, but it can be more problematic for women because with an even longer life expectancy, women face an even greater scale of retirement income shortfall.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women tend to live almost five years longer than men1. That’s a lot of retirement income that will be needed and if, like some women, they have not taken an active role in their retirement preparation, they may be forced to live with the financial decisions made by their husband even after he’s gone.
Many financial services professionals have female clients who have reported facing a retirement strategy dilemma at one point in their life. It’s very common, and some of the same drawbacks plague women as they prepare for, and then live in retirement.
Let’s look at four of the most common drawbacks, and consider how a financial services professional can help you navigate them.
1. Not understanding the source of your advice.
It is crucial to know where you are getting your financial advice and understand the motives behind the person giving the advice. Trust and respect are important factors in deciding what professional they choose. By educating yourself on the options available, you can ensure you find a true financial professional partner in life.
2. Failing to allocate your assets appropriately.
One of the important factors in retirement strategy is allocating assets appropriate to risk tolerance, income needs and legacy desires — yet many people overlook changes that should be made as you near retirement age.
Strategic allocation ensures diversification based on your unique risk tolerance. Diversification is the key to risk management and is a critical component to your overall financial strategy. The simple way of putting this is: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It is important to note that diversification cannot guarantee a profit or protect against a loss.
3. Failing to take advantage of stretch options, which provide a greater legacy to your loved ones.
With the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Congress passed a law that allows multi-generational distributions for Individual Retirement Account (IRA) assets3.
Non-spousal beneficiaries must generally take distributions from their inherited IRAs, whether transferred or not, within five years after the death of the IRA owner. But an exception to this rule applies if the beneficiary elects to take distributions over his or her lifetime, often referred to as “stretching” the IRA. You can stretch IRA distributions throughout yours, your children’s and your grandchildren’s lifetimes.
When planning your legacy, some good questions to ask yourself include:
If there is one rule more important than any other when it comes to legacy planning, it is this: Your beneficiary designation forms control how your assets are distributed, so you need to keep those forms up to date. This is true for retirement plans, annuities, life insurance, and other non-probate assets. You need to review the beneficiary designations at least every couple of years or when there is a major life event.
Everyone can benefit from avoiding the drawbacks that can sidetrack you on the path to retirement. But for women, whose life expectancies generally mean they’ll be in retirement loner than men, it’s even more important.
Contact your financial services professional to discuss how you can prepare for retirement and its many twists in turns.
1 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db328.htm
2https://www.forbes.com/sites/jbrewer/2018/08/21/use-planning-to-overcome-the-risks-to-womens-retirement/#16acab9f3bba
3 https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxreformact1986.asp
FOUR RETIREMENT MYTHS, DEBUNKED
Myth #1: You can wait a few more years until you start saving for retirement.
When you’re in your 20’s, it’s easy to push retirement planning off until later to start saving. Your money could be spent on things like getting a new car, paying off loans from college, or saving up for a house. None of which are good reasons to put off saving for retirement.
You see, the earlier you can get into the habit of saving for retirement, the better of you will be in the future, because your money has had more time to compound and grow.
For some people, the plan is to first pay of their mortgage, then help the kids with college costs, and then, finally save for retirement. While Life expectancies are longer today than in the past, you may end up with a bigger nest egg to last from retirement through the rest of your life if you start early.
The longer that you wait to start saving, the more you will have to make up for down the road, which could make reaching your goal significantly harder. Ultimately, it can help to start building your retirement early, even though it may be harder to save.
Myth #2: Your company or the government will take care of your retirement.
In the past, retirement income was commonly compared to a three-legged stool1 — one part came from Social Security, another part came from company pensions, and a third part was from personal retirement savings.
Today, the same cannot be said. Pensions are less common than they were in the past, having been replaced by a hybrid of pensions and savings called defined contribution plans. At the same time, the funds for the Social Security program have been steadily dwindling2.What was a three- legged stool for previous generations is now a somewhat wobbly two-legged stool.
In fact, in 2034, just 15 short years away, the Social Security trust fund is expected to be depleted, according to the Social Security Administration’s summary of the 2018 annual reports2. That means that in order to work toward the retirement of your dreams, you may have to be sure that your other assets make up for the less-than-ideal benefit you may receive from Social Security.
Your Social Security benefit may be a nice supplement to have, but it maybe should not be counted on as the only piece of your retirement income.
Myth #3: Medicare will meet all your healthcare needs.
Medicare may likely be one part of your healthcare coverage, and for some people it may meet the majority of their needs. But many older retirees may suffer from serious medical conditions, and Medicare may not provide the comprehensive coverage you think it does.
For instance, you may have to pick up some prescription costs on your own; pay premiums and coinsurance expenses; and pay out-of-pocket for care that isn’t covered, such as long-term care in a nursing home. You may need additional funds for healthcare, which could come in the form of long-term-care insurance or a health savings account.
Each of these options — and even Medicare itself — may come at a cost to you. You should consult with a certified Medicare broker with questions about the costs that may lie ahead for you and to help you enroll in Medicare.
Myth #4: Retirement means you no longer have to work.
While it may be your goal to stop working altogether in retirement, that may not end up being the case. Retirement has changed and it doesn’t always follow the model many of us envision: Traditional full-time work immediately becomes full-time leisure.
In order to make up for their retirement income gap, some retirees are choosing to do a few things:
That’s not the only reason retirees are returning to the work force, either. With longer life expectancies, some retirees are even finding that they may spend nearly as much time in retirement as they did in their career. For some of them, retirement is best while striking a balance between work and leisure.
These are just a few of the myths that can misguide you about what to expect in retirement. Working with a financial services professional can help ensure you have the information you need to make informed decisions on your path to retirement.
If you have questions about Retirement Planning or would like a complimentary consultation, please call us today at 775-675-2223.
SWITCHING JOBS DOESN’T MEAN LOSING YOUR 401(K)
One of the realities of working in today’s world is that most people will switch jobs. Not once, not twice, but multiple times.
Employees in past generations often found a job and stuck with it for decades, or even until they retired. That is not the case today. When it comes to job hopping, millennials often get a bad rap, but the numbers show that job-switching isn’t exclusive to younger generations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in their first 30 -plus years of adulthood, young baby boomers averaged 11.9 different jobs.
It’s truly a remarkable statistic. Between the ages of 18 and 50, that population had nearly 12 jobs. And while it’s difficult to imagine, you might be surprised if you do the math in your head. Think about where you’ve worked over the years. Some jobs may have been temporary; some may have been seasonal; and some, of course, were more permanent. Whatever the case may be, in the end, the average person does a lot of job switching over the years.
Every job is different, so it makes sense that the process when you leave every job is different, too.When we look back at Bureau of Labor Statistics’ study group of people who were born between 1957 and 1964, it’s unlikely that they had retirement savings plans at every one of their 11.9 (on average) jobs. But it’s less of a stretch to think that they might have a handful of retirement plans, like a 401(k).
What do you do when you leave a job with a retirement plan? Do you have options for your 401(k)? The good news is: you do.
For this article, we borrowed some inspiration from an April 2018 CNBC.com article entitled, “Here’s what to do with your 401(k) when you change jobs.” Handy, right? The article breaks down some of your options when changing jobs. It’s always good to consult with a financial services professional in a situation like this, too, but you shouldn’t feel like you’re alone.
Keep in mind that when you leave a job, your 401(k) is your money! Employers often have different vesting schedules for their contributions, but if you’ve contributed to a 401(k), you should keep in mind that it comes with you. Just like you wouldn’t leave your wallet at your old job, you may not want to leave your 401(k) there.
Your money should be working for you in the most productive way possible. With that in mind, let’s review your options.
A financial professional will be able to walk you through more of the ramifications of an account withdrawal and other alternatives that could be less damaging to your retirement.
PLAN YOUR RETIREMENT LIVING
When planning for retirement, many people think about how much time they’ll spend with their grandkids, which destinations they will cross off their bucket list and how many rounds of golf they will play each week.
Let’s be clear — those are amazing and important reasons to be excited about retirement. But they’re not the only things you need to be thinking about. Retirement changes the rules when it comes to finances, and it’s important to make sure you plan accordingly.
When you were working, you were earning a regular paycheck, paying bills every month and saving for the future. As a retiree, you may no longer have that steady paycheck, but the bills still keep coming. That means to pay them, it’s likely you’ll have to tap into your savings. Knowing how much income you’ll receive during your retirement could greatly affect your retirement living. That’s why it’s so important to make a retirement plan when you are healthy and independent, and can make well-informed decisions.
It helps to start by asking a couple of questions:
How much money do you need? The exact amount you need is specific to you and is based on how you want to live in retirement. Once you figure out the amount you need, the next step is to find beneficial investment strategies and tools to help you achieve your income goals.
When do you need your money? Determining when you will retire can help you determine when you will need your money. The key is to match your income needs with the correct investment strategies to satisfy those needs. Strategies will be different for everyone, and a way to find the one that’s right for you is by working with a retirement professional you can trust.
As you develop a retirement strategy, it is important to organize your money in ways that provide both immediate and future retirement income. To do this successfully, it requires a balance of what we call “Know So Money” and “Hope So Money.” What do we mean by that?
“Know So Money” consists of lower-risk assets, allowing you to reasonably depend on them to be there when you need them. For example, two of your biggest “Know So Money” retirement streams may be your pension and Social Security benefit.
Other examples of “Know So Money” include savings and checking accounts, and government-backed bonds. With these bonds, it is important to note that if you decide to cash in your bond before it matures, you could make or lose money depending on prevailing interest rates.
On the other hand, “Hope So Money” is more exposed to risk, but also offers greater return potential. Some common examples include mutual funds,variable annuities and real estate investment trust.
A retirement professional can also help you craft a financial strategy that helps ensure your “Know So Money” and “Hope So Money” are well-balanced. Balancing these two types of money is important to making sure that your retirement income can potentially last as long as you do.
It is important to organize your finances, because simply saving is rarely enough. Even the most frugal and diligent of savers may struggle to create a nest-egg large enough to support their retirement. By crafting a retirement strategy that balances your need for asset preservation and retirement income, but still has some growth potential, you may be able to effectively bridge any income shortfalls you have in retirement.
Creating the retirement income you need may have less to do with how much money you have, and more to do with when you have it. Essentially, to bridge your income shortfalls you will need strategic and purposeful retirement planning.
To take the next step in your retirement plan, contact Nevada Senior Advisors at 775-674-2223 today.
ADDRESSING SOME OF YOUR RETIREMENT CONCERNS
addressing some of your retirement concerns
An important part of the role that we serve is helping to alleviate some of the concerns that our clients have surrounding retirement. Everyday, we work with people who are planning for an important phase of their life. It’s natural that people have concerns, and often they are the same from person to person.
It might help you to know that just as you are not alone in your retirement preparation, you’re likely not alone in the concerns you’re having.There are three concerns in particular that nearly all retirees and pre-retirees share: running out of income in retirement, finding affordable and reliable healthcare plans, and navigating a volatile market. Fortunately, there are ways to help you fee like you’re doing something to make sure those concerns don’t become a reality.
Concern #1: “I’m nervous that I’m going to run out of money in retirement.”
Among the three, the number one concern that many people have is outliving their money. They want to be sure that they will have income for life.
Many people find some relief in having a retirement strategy that helps provide income for life. Part of the retirement strategy is setting a target amount for how much you’ll need, a target date for when you’ll need it, and adjusting your lifestyle to help you get there. Even though everyone’s income needs are different, the general rule of thumb is that a retiree will require 70 to 80 percent of their pre-retirement income to maintain their current lifestyle.
Once you figure out your target amount, the next step is to explore beneficial financial strategies, options, and tools to help you achieve your income goals. There are a handful of ways to get there, and Social Security is one of the most well-known. It plays an important role in many Americans’ retirement strategies, and it is beneficial for them to know how to properly manage it in order to maximize their benefit.
There are also a number of other tools that your financial services professional can review with you.
Concern #2: “I’m worried that I won’t be able to afford the medical care I’ll need in the future.”
Your retirement strategy should address your healthcare needs and concerns. Having a comprehensive and affordable health insurance strategy is more than just a critical component in your retirement strategy; it’s a critical component to ensure your quality of life. There are various
ways to accomplish this but for many retirees Medicare is the most important. Medicare guarantees health insurance for people older than 65, with certain disabilities or with certain diseases. It is similar to Social Security in that it’s a federal social insurance program that you have contributed into over the course of your career. It is important to understand your Medicare coverage so that you can get the most out of it, and create a strategy to insulate your retirement savings so that it doesn’t run them dry.
The majority of Medicare recipients also purchase a supplement to ensure their coverage level matches their healthcare needs.
Concern #3: “I’m uncomfortable with the potential ups and downs of the market.”
When dealing with a volatile market, the most difficult challenge can sometimes be managing your emotions. Investing for retirement can be a difficult process. You want to make sure you have all the necessary information you need to make an educated decision. One that will benefit you and your loved ones in the long run.
Understanding why you have certain holdings and assets provides you with the knowledge of how to properly handle your retirement strategy. For example, if the market becomes unstable, you can have the confidence to make well-informed decisions, rather than making a panicked decision to compensate for the unexpected change.
No two retirees are alike. It is important to understand your needs and goals for retirement and have a retirement strategy tailored to your objectives, risk tolerance and time horizon. Working with your financial services professional can help you get there.
If you have questions about Retirement Planning or would like a complementary consultation, please call us today at 775-675-2223.
Should I Buy Travel Insurance?
Travel insurance refers to various types of specialized coverage you can buy to insure yourself against the many risks you face as a traveler. You can purchase this insurance from insurance companies, travel agents, tour operators, cruise lines, rental companies,or travel assistance companies. Coverage, cost, and terms vary widely.
There are many different types of travel insurance:
Trip cancellation or interruption insurance protects you if your trip is canceled or interrupted because of some unforeseen event, such as the financial failure of the cruise line, airline, or travel agency; bad weather; illness; or death.
Temporary health policies provide short-term supplemental health insurance coverage. This type of coverage may be helpful when you’re traveling abroad, since some health insurance providers do not cover you while traveling overseas, or they may provide only limited coverage.
Baggage insurance reimburses you if your personal belongings are permanently or temporarily lost, stolen, or damaged while you are traveling.
Accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance compensates you if you lose a limb or an eye, or compensates your beneficiary if you die in an accident. You can purchase this coverage as a separate policy, as a ride to an existing policy, or as part of a travel insurance policy.
You may want to consider purchasing some form of travel insurance if the financial benefit and peace of mind outweight the premium cost. For instance, if your trip were canceled or the tour operator went out of business, could you afford to lose the money you paid for the trip? If you got sick while vacationing in a foreign country, would your health insurance cover you? If not, could you afford to pay for your medical expenses? If your luggage were lost, could you afford to purchase everything you would need to continue your trip? These are important questions to consider when deciding whether or not to purchase travel insurance.
Source: Broadridge Investor Communication Solultions, Inc. Copyright, 2018
If you have questions about Retirement Planning or would like a complementary consultation, please call us today at 775-675-2223.
HOW MEDICARE FITS INTO YOUR RETIREMENT
The hallmark of a successful retirement is developing a financial plan that can help ensure your money will last as long as you do. During this new and unique period in your life, how you allocate your money can often matter more than how much of it you have, or how diligent you’ve been in saving it. Having a comprehensive and affordable health insurance strategy is more than just a critical component in your retirement plan; it’s a critical component in your quality of life and well being in your later years.
There are a number of ways to accomplish this, but for many retirees, Medicare is the most important to learn how to utilize. Medicare guarantees health insurance for people older than 65 who have certain disabilities or diseases. It is similar to Social Security in that it’s a federal social insurance program that you have contributed to over the course of your
Medicare Advantage Plans include: health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations, private fee-for-service plans, special needs plans, and Medicare medical savings account plans.
If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan:
– Most Medicare services are covered through the plan
– Medicare services aren’t paid for by Original Medicare
– Most Medicare Advantage Plans offer prescription drug coverage.
Part D – Prescription Drug Coverage adds coverage to:
original Medicare, some Medicare cost plans, some Medicare private-fee-for-service plans, and Medicare medical savings account plans. These plans are offered by insurance companies and other private companies approved by Medicare. Medicare Advantage Plans may also offer prescription drug coverage that follows the same rules as Medicare Prescription Drug Plans.
Healthcare costs are often the biggest expense in retirement and should be viewed as a major factor when estimating your retirement costs. Having a plan in place to help insulate your savings from healthcare costs may mean the difference between being able to leave a lasting financial legacy for generations to come, and having your life savings drained down completely.
https://www.medicare.gov/what-medicare-covers/your-medicare-coverage-choices/whats-medicare
If you have questions about Retirement Planning or would like a complementary consultation, please call us today at 775-675-2223.