Let’s face it, nobody likes planning for retirement. It can be stressful and time-consuming, but it’s also one of the most important things you will do, especially if you still have a lot more that you want to accomplish in life. Like we’ve talked about in previous blogs, 401k planning, diversifying your investments, and diversifying your 401k are all important parts of ensuring you’re prepared for retirement. However, they aren’t the only. If you want to ensure that you don’t outlive your assets and are able to leave behind a significant amount of wealth for your children or grandchildren, you’re going to need to have a well-rounded retirement portfolio. Keep reading to learn about some essential components of a retirement plan, or give us a call at Kennedy Wealth Management if you would like to speak with a wealth management expert.
Increase Your Savings
The single most important part of retirement planning is saving and sticking to the goals that you’ve set for yourself. Remember that sticking to your goals isn’t a short-term thing. If your goal is to save an extra $25 a week on food, you’re going to need to stick with that same goal five or ten years from now. Of course, you can adjust your goals if needed, but if you lose sight of your goals, you’re going to have a lot less money in savings once retirement comes around. Another aspect of this is to start as soon as possible. Even if you feel like you’re behind on saving for retirement, it’s best to not waste any more time. If you’re having trouble sticking to a solid plan or even creating one in the first place, be sure to speak with one of our financial advisors here at Kennedy Wealth Management.
Don’t Rule Out Other Sources Of Income
Many people, when planning for retirement, believe that they’re going to have to rely solely on their savings once they reach retirement, this is not the case for everyone, and if you do want to have a small source of income, it is certainly possible to do so. The largest source of income for those in retirement is by far Social Security which will pay around $1 trillion in 2018. According to BLS data, the second highest source of income for older Americans is from dividends from investments, income from rentals and other property, and savings. However, if this isn’t enough, what other options are there?
One of the first things that may come to mind is part-time work. Although it may seem counterintuitive to work in retirement, many Americans do, and it can be hugely beneficial if you don’t overdo it.
If you’re 50 or older, you can actually contribute more money to tax-shielding accounts if you have an IRA, and you’ll be able to ‘pad’ your account with an extra $1,000 on top of the normal $5,500 ceiling. With a 401k or 403b employer-sponsored retirement plan, your contribution limit will increase to $24,500 annually. Make sure you take advantage of these benefits immediately to ensure a higher income in retirement.
On the other hand, you can maximize your Social Security check by continuing to rely on other sources of income until the age of 67. This may cause your monthly benefit to go up by as much as 8 percent each year.
Work With A Professional
Although, at first glance, it may seem counterintuitive to work with a professional financial advisor to create a retirement plan. After all, the goal is to save as much as possible before finally retiring. However, in the grand scheme of things, being able to put some extra money aside each month is only a small part of retirement planning. You also need to understand all the potential benefits of 401ks, 403bs, IRAs, Social Security, and anything else you can be doing to either increase your wealth, save more before retirement, or have an extra source of income while in retirement. A wealth management professional can help you organize all of this into one plan and feel much more secure about your future.
Contact Kennedy Wealth Management
When it comes time to speak with a financial advisor about your retirement, you need to work with someone who always has your best interest in mind, and fully understands the ins and outs of retirement benefits as well as the ability to fully analyze your situation and scout out any opportunities unique to your situation. At Kennedy Wealth management, we believe that everyone deserves to have peace of mind while in retirement and shouldn’t have to worry about whether they’re going to outlive their assets or not. When you’re ready to start planning for your future, give us a call today. We’d be glad to hear from you.