Retirement Planning – Park Ridge, IL
For anyone in "Generation X" - defined as individuals born between the mid-1960s and also the early 1980s - retirement planning sounds like something your mother and father or other "old people" would do. But you know what? With many "baby boomers" either already in the midst of retirement or looking at it in the near future, "Generation X" stands out as the next generation of men and women to reach retirement. Sure, it is a ways off, but people in their 30s and 40s really need to start focusing their investment planning on retirement and making sure they've got the kind of retirement they are working 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 labor force must be far different than it was in days gone by.
On the bright side, folks are living longer than ever. As of not too long 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 four 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 back.
Social Security and Retiring - Park Ridge, IL
On the down side, Social Security is going to be a far less reliable source of income compared to now. And the likelihood is 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 have to depend on their savings to cover the expenses of just living and health insurance.
With individuals living for a longer time and needing additional money to do so, retirement planning is a vital activity even for those who are half way to the common retirement age of 65. It could be a daunting task to plan for a couple of decades into the future, especially with bills, rents and home loans to pay today, but procrastinating will not make it any less complicated.
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 preliminary investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will offer a place where you can pile up 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 solid approach which could surely and gradually build a nest egg is to put money into long-term bonds. After maturation of the bond, you'll get back your initial investment and also all the interest that collected over the life of the bond. That's a tremendous amount of money for a 20- or 30-year bond-money which could provide a good foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is really as safe an investment as you can ever make.
401K and IRA - Park Ridge, IL
Nevertheless, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning is to put cash in a 401K plan at your workplace or in an IRA opened with an investment house. For those 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 may be tax-deductible, depending on how much is invested every year.
For more information, please don't hesitate to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we will be glad to help you! We offer 401K and IRA rollover and review services for individuals in the Park Ridge, IL area.
