Category: Retirement Planning

There are many retirement questions we hear over and over, so we know these are the major questions that weigh heavy on the minds of future retirees. Let’s discuss one big retirement question: What if inflation is high?

By Ryan Brooke, CFP^®, ChFC^®

Was retirement on your mind pre-pandemic? Whether you were already planning for your retirement or you’re just starting to set a date now, chances are retirement might look and feel different in a post-pandemic world.

Whether your retirement is just around the corner or years away, ensuring your preparations are in order can be the centerpiece of an effective retirement strategy. This is especially critical when you consider that approximately 4 out of 10 households are predicted to run short of money in retirement.

You love everything about being gainfully employed. But you’re getting close to retirement. What do you do? Should you wait until you’re 70? Retire at 62? Or continue working, but fewer hours, or maybe, in a different, less-demanding position?

In this article, we will explore some of your choices. We will take a look at some of the available options that may fit your circumstances and lifestyle, while also considering the condition of your health during your later working years.

Beautiful vistas, glorious landscapes, sunsets, quaint towns and exciting adventures. The sights and sounds of traveling. Are they lost once you retire?

Retirement generally means transitioning to a fixed income, but the image of fixing yourself in a rocking chair on the front porch is outdated. Opportunities for travel and writing your own next chapter are abundantly available, if you plan in advance to make these things happen.

How about the City of Lights with the Eiffel Tower in the background? You can take weekend trips to the Louvre.

Thinking about the Eternal City? Visit the Colosseum or the Pantheon in your free time.

A smart bungalow in a quaint London neighborhood would be absolutely smashing. And you wouldn’t have to learn another language—other than British English. You can always tour the Tower of London or take a gander at Buckingham Palace whenever you feel like it.

It takes nearly 18 hours to drive from Chicago to Orlando, Florida. Gas for the trip is $89-$173. Plan to set aside 1 day and 5 hours to travel the 2,025 miles from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Tempe, Arizona. Gas will cost anywhere from $156 to $304.

Dual or seasonal residents choose to make those types of treks between two homes twice a year to take advantage mostly of milder temperatures and more comfortable climates elsewhere.

Small-business owners are an essential component of keeping America’s economy churning. In the United States, small businesses with 500 or fewer employees make up 99.7% of companies and are collectively worth more than $10 trillion.

Too often, however, small-business owners spend so much time and energy building their companies, they neglect their personal financial futures. They might consider their companies to be their retirement plans, but don’t create the structure or strategy necessary for turning financial success into a meaningful retirement.

No matter where you are in your life, saving for retirement is likely one of your most important financial goals. But, even if you have professional guidance and a clear strategy for your desired future, you could still be missing some straightforward ways to maximize your savings.

The reality is: Most people do not save enough money for retirement. In fact, the National Institute on Retirement Security estimates that Americans have at least a $6.8 trillion gap between the amount they have saved and the amount they need. Alarmingly, they found the gap could be as high as $14 trillion.

By Marc C. Shaffer

The idea of retirement and the reality of retirement can often be drastically different. For many people, retirement is the idea that at a certain age you will leave your career and enter into a life of leisure. Be it golfing, visiting sunny locations or spending time with grandchildren, retirement has been painted as the final phase of life where you haven’t a care in the world. Every day I talk with people who are retired or planning their retirement, and let me tell you, it’s time we start thinking differently about retirement. The 17th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey showed that a majority of workers dream about traveling, spending more time with family, and pursuing hobbies, and 28 percent dream of doing some form of work in retirement. What does retirement mean to you? Does waiting until normal retirement age to pursue your dreams make sense to you, or would you like to consider an “alternative” retirement? The “what you want to do” and “how much you’re going to need” may look a lot different than you’re prepared for, so considering which type of retirement is right for you and the financial considerations to get you there are key. Let’s look at 5 types of retirement styles I talk about frequently: