Retirement Planning Services – River Forest, Illinois
For the people in "Generation X" - defined as individuals born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s - retirement planning seems like something your parents or other "old people" would do. But you know what? With many "baby boomers" either already in the midst of retirement or observing it in the near future, "Generation X" will be the next generation of individuals to reach retirement. Sure, it's still a ways off, but those in their 30s and 40s ought to start centering their investment planning on retirement and ensuring they've got the type of retirement they are working hard to have. Here are some tips on planning for retirement:
Retirement life in the foreseeable future will be different than the retirement right now. It will be much better in some ways, and worse in some ways. But, the retirement planning for today's workforce needs to be far different than it was in yesteryear.
On the bright side, folks 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 greater than 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 ago.
Social Security and Retiring - River Forest, Illinois
On the downside, Social Security is going to be a far less trustworthy source of income compared to now. And also 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 previous employer. Increasingly more, retired people will have to depend on their financial savings to pay for the costs of living and health insurance.
With folks living longer and needing extra money to do so, retirement planning is a vital activity even for those people who are half way to the standard retirement age of 65. It could be an intimidating task to plan for a couple of decades into the future, especially with bills, housing costs and mortgages to pay today, but procrastinating won't make it any less complicated.
Putting even just a small amount of cash into a savings account that functions as a retirement savings plan can pay off in the future. The interest you get on money in a savings account will allow your initial investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will offer a place where you can accumulate capital earning a little interest rate until there's enough to invest in a reliable security that will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another solid strategy that may surely and gradually build a nest egg is to invest in long-term bonds. On maturation of the bond, you will get back your initial investment and also all the interest that collected over the life of the bond. That's a considerable 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 that you can ever make.
401K and IRA With Retirement - River Forest, Illinois
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 the people for whom a 401K is not a retirement planning choice, an IRA is the next best thing. Money put in this account is tax deferred and may be tax-deductible, depending on how much is invested each year.
For more details, please do not 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 River Forest, Illinois area.