Retirement Planning – Thornton, IL
For anyone in "Generation X" - described as folks born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s - retirement planning seems like something your parents or other "old people" might do. But guess what? With lots of "baby boomers" either already in the midst of retirement or looking at it on the horizon, "Generation X" stands out as the next generation of men and women to reach retirement. Sure, it's still a ways off, but people in their 30s and 40s need to start centering their investment planning on retirement and making sure they've got the type of retirement they are working so hard to enjoy. Below are great tips on preparing for retirement:
Retirement life in the foreseeable future will be different than the retirement of today. It will likely be 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 days gone by.
On the bright side, individuals 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. Therefore investment planning for retirement has to account for an extended period of time now than a generation or two in the past.
Social Security and Retiring - Thornton, IL
On the downside, Social Security will probably be a far less dependable source of income compared to 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 persons will need to rely on their savings to pay for the costs of living and health insurance.
With folks living longer and needing more cash to do so, retirement planning is an essential activity even for those people who are half way to the regular retirement age of 65. It can be an intimidating task to plan for a couple of decades into the future, especially with bills, housing costs and home loans to pay today, but procrastinating won't make it any easier.
Putting even just a little bit of cash into a savings account that works 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 give you a place where you can pile up capital earning a small interest rate until there is enough to invest in a trusted security that will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another good strategy which could 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 as well as all the interest that collected over the life of the bond. This is 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 that you can ever make.
401K and IRA - Thornton, IL
However, 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 people for whom a 401K isn't a retirement planning option, an IRA is the next best thing. Money placed in this account is tax deferred and might be tax-deductible, depending on how much is invested each year.
For more information, please feel free to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we will be happy to help you! We provide 401K and IRA rollover and review services for folks in the Thornton, IL area.
