Retirement Planning Services – Highwood, IL
For those in "Generation X" - defined as people 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 lots of "baby boomers" either already in the midst of retirement or viewing it on the horizon, "Generation X" is definitely the next generation of individuals to reach old age. Sure, it is still a ways off, but those in their 30s and 40s must start focusing their investment planning on retirement and making sure they've got the sort of retirement they are working hard to have. Below are great tips on preparing for retirement:
Retirement life in the future will be different than the retirement right now. It will be much better in some ways, and worse in some ways. However, the retirement planning for today's labor force needs to be far different than it was in the past.
On the bright side, folks 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 over the average life span in 1990 and more than 4 years more than the average life span in 1980. Therefore investment planning for retirement has to account for a longer period of time now than a generation or two back.
Social Security and Retirement - Highwood, IL
On the down side, Social Security will likely be a far less trustworthy income source than it is now. And 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 former workplace. Increasingly more, retired people will need to depend on their financial savings to pay for the costs of just living and health insurance.
With people living longer and needing more cash to do so, retirement planning is a vital activity even for those who are halfway to the common retirement age of 65. It can be an intimidating task to plan for a couple of decades into the future, especially with bills, rents and mortgages to pay today, but procrastinating will not make it any less complicated.
Putting even just a little bit of cash into a savings account which works as a retirement savings plan can pay off later on. The interest you get on money in a savings account will allow your preliminary investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will give you a place where you can accumulate capital earning a little interest rate until there's enough to invest in a trusted security which will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another solid approach which could certainly and steadily build a nest egg is to invest in long-term bonds. Upon maturation of the bond, you will get back your initial investment as well as all the interest which collected over the life of the bond. That's a considerable amount of money for a 20- or 30-year bond-money which could provide a great foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is really as safe an investment as you can ever make.
401K and IRA With Retirement - Highwood, IL
However, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning is to put money in a 401K plan at your workplace or in an IRA opened with an investment house. For people for whom a 401K is not a retirement planning choice, an IRA is the next best thing. Money put into this account is tax deferred and might be tax-deductible, depending on how much is invested every year.
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we'll be glad to help you! We provide 401K and IRA rollover and review services for folks in the Highwood, IL area.