Are You Ready for Retirement?

Are you ready for retirement? Join David Hollander, CEO and founder of Liberty Group, as he guides you through a comprehensive retirement readiness checklist. In this informative video, David addresses common retirement concerns and provides valuable insights to help you plan for the retirement you deserve.

As you look forward to the retirement that you’ve always imagined, you may find yourself wondering if you’re really ready for the retirement that you’ve always dreamed of. Nearly everyone that I talk to who’s approaching retirement has that same concern. Have I saved enough? What if there’s another stock market downturn? Could changes in policies and politics affect me? Could increased tax rates take a lot out of my retirement income? And what if I need to go into a nursing home?

Wouldn’t it be nice to retire with confidence? We believe this checklist is a great first step to measure your retirement readiness.

Number one: Evaluate your spending, saving, and investments and make sure you’ve set aside enough to support your lifestyle throughout retirement.

Do you have a written budget for all necessary and discretionary spending? And based on that budget, do you have an estimate of the income that you’re going to need each year when you retire? Do you know where all your retirement income is going to come from and how much you’ll receive from each? For instance, Social Security is pretty straightforward. So is a pension. You have many choices, but which pension option is best? What about investment accounts? Like your 401(k) or your brokerage account? How about rental properties? Do you know what year you’ll retire? If you’re within five years of retirement, has your financial advisor calculated and documented your income plan? For instance, do you know which accounts you’ll be taking money out of and exactly how much it will look like each and every year moving forward? Is your income plan inflation adjusted and run all the way through age 95? Do you have an inventory of all your household assets? I’m talking about your real estate, your brokerage account, how about your retirement account and other investment portfolios? It’s a good idea to know where all those things are and what they’re worth. Also take an inventory of all your household liabilities, like mortgages, auto loans, credit card debt, anything that’s going to need to be paid back if something were to happen to you is super important.

Number two: Plan for potential market fluctuations, you know they’re coming.

So, consider diversifying your portfolio to reduce that overall impact when the market does go down and you need to take income out. Make sure if you’re within five years of retirement that you’ve made sure you and your advisor have made changes to your portfolio so you’re affecting the level of volatility that you’re going to experience when you need to start taking money out of those investments. Ask yourself: Does my investment allocation match my risk tolerance? If the market were to take a nosedive, how could I mitigate my overall risk to my money?

Number three: Stay informed about politics and policies that could affect your investments.

Being aware of what’s happening in Washington allows you to make adjustments to reduce your taxes and overall loss to your portfolio.

Number four: Review your budget and prepare for any potential tax changes.

Then what you want to do is adjust your financial strategy to minimize the impact of those taxes on your income that’s coming out. For example, do you know how your various income sources, like Social Security or your retirement account, will be taxed when they’re both paying you income in retirement?

Number five: Focus on your health and well-being.

Take care of yourself physically and mentally now, to potentially avoid health problems in your future. Remember, if you’re retiring before age 65, you better have a plan for a catastrophic medical event. I’m talking about COBRA, you know, that’s going to be more expensive, but you’re not eligible for Medicare just yet. If you’re above 65, do you know which Medicare option is the best for you?

Retirement is meant to be a time of fulfillment and enjoyment. So, take the necessary steps to be more confident about your retirement plan. And remember, it’s never too early to start planning and even late planning is better than nothing at all.