Retirement Planning – Elmwood Park, Illinois
For those in "Generation X" - described as individuals born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s - retirement planning may sound like something your parents or other "old people" might do. But you know what? With many "baby boomers" either already in the middle of retirement or observing it on the horizon, "Generation X" will be the next generation of men and women to reach retirement. Sure, it is a ways off, but people in their 30s and 40s ought to begin focusing their investment planning on retirement and making sure they have the sort of retirement they are working so hard to have. Here are some tips on preparing for retirement:
Retirement life in the future will be different than the retirement right now. It'll be far better in some ways, and worse in some ways. However, the retirement planning for today's workforce must be far different than it was in the past.
On the bright side, people are living longer than ever. As of a few years ago, the average life span of an American was 77.9 years, exactly 2.5 years over the average life span in 1990 and more than four years more than the average life span in 1980. So investment planning for retirement has to account for an extended period of time right now than a generation or two back.
Social Security and Retiring - Elmwood Park, Illinois
On the downside, Social Security will likely be a far less reliable source of income compared to now. And also the odds are slim-and getting slimmer every year-that retirees 20 and 30 years from right now will be able to rely on a work pension and enjoy lifetime benefits from their previous employer. More and more, retired people will need to rely on their financial savings to pay for the expenses of living and medical health insurance.
With people living for a longer time and needing more money to do so, retirement planning is a vital activity even for those people who are halfway to the common retirement age of sixty-five. It may be an intimidating task to plan for a few decades into the future, especially with bills, housing costs and mortgages to pay right now, but procrastinating will not make it any less difficult.
Putting even just a little bit of money now into a savings account that works as a retirement savings plan can pay off later. The interest you get on money in a savings account will allow your preliminary investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will supply a place where you can acquire capital earning a small interest rate until there's enough to invest in a trusted security which will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another good approach that may certainly and gradually build a nest egg is to invest in long-term bonds. Upon maturation of the bond, you'll get back your initial investment as well as all the interest that collected over the life of the bond. That's a significant amount of money for a 20- or 30-year bond-money that may provide a good foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is as safe an investment as you can ever make.
401K and IRA With Retirement - Elmwood Park, Illinois
Nevertheless, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning would be to put money in a 401K plan at your workplace or in an IRA opened with an investment house. For the people for whom a 401K isn't a retirement planning option, an IRA is the next best thing. Money put in this account is tax deferred and might be tax-deductible, depending on how much is invested annually.
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we will be happy to help you! We offer 401K and IRA rollover and review services for individuals in the Elmwood Park, Illinois area.