Retirement Planning – Highland Park, Illinois
For anyone in "Generation X" - defined as folks born between the mid-1960s and also the early 1980s - retirement planning may sound like something your mother and father or other "old people" might do. But you know what? With many "baby boomers" either already in the midst of retirement or looking at it on the horizon, "Generation X" is the next generation of people to reach old age. Sure, it is still a ways off, but those in their 30s and 40s should start focusing their investment planning on retirement and ensuring they've got the sort of retirement they are working so hard to enjoy. Here are some tips on preparing for retirement:
Retirement life in the foreseeable future will be different than the retirement in the present day. It will be better in some ways, and worse somewhat. However, the retirement planning for today's labor force must be far different than it was in days gone by.
On the bright side, people are living longer than ever. As of a short while ago, the average life span of an American was 77.9 years, exactly 2.5 years more than the average life span in 1990 and more than 4 years more than the average life span in 1980. So investment planning for retirement has to account for a longer time of time now than a generation or two ago.
Social Security and Retirement - Highland Park, Illinois
On the down side, Social Security is going to be a far less reliable income source than it is now. And also the odds are slim-and getting slimmer every year-that retirees 20 and 30 years from 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 cover the costs of just living and medical health insurance.
With folks living for a longer time and needing extra money to do so, retirement planning is a vital activity even for those who are half way to the standard retirement age of sixty-five. It may be an intimidating task to plan for a few decades into the future, especially with bills, rents and mortgages to pay right now, but procrastinating won't make it any less difficult.
Putting even just a little bit of money now into a savings account that serves as a retirement savings plan can pay off later on. The interest you receive on money in a savings account will allow your initial investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will give you a place where you can pile up capital earning a little interest rate until there is enough to invest in a reliable security which will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another good approach that can certainly and steadily build a nest egg is to invest in long-term bonds. Upon maturation of the bond, you'll get back your initial investment and also all the interest that collected over the lifetime of the bond. That's a considerable amount of money for a 20- or 30-year bond-money that can provide a good foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is as safe an investment that you can ever make.
401K and IRA With Retirement - Highland Park, Illinois
Nonetheless, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning would be to put cash in a 401K plan at work or in an IRA opened with an investment house. For the people for whom a 401K is not a retirement planning option, an IRA is the next best thing. Money placed in this account is tax deferred and may be tax-deductible, depending on how much is invested each year.
For more info, please don't hesitate to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we'll be glad to help you! We offer 401K and IRA rollover and review services for folks in the Highland Park, Illinois area.
