Retirement Planning – West Chicago
For those in "Generation X" - defined as individuals born between the mid-1960s and also the early 1980s - retirement planning seems like something your parents or other "old people" would do. But guess what? With a lot of "baby boomers" either already in the middle of retirement or observing it in the near future, "Generation X" is the next generation of men and women to reach retirement. Sure, it is still a ways off, but those in their 30s and 40s ought to start focusing their investment planning on retirement and making certain they have the kind 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 far better in some ways, and worse in some ways. However, the retirement planning for today's workforce must be far different than it was in the past.
On the bright side, people 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 over 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 period of time now than a generation or two ago.
Social Security and Retirement - West Chicago
On the down side, Social Security is going to be a far less trustworthy source of income than it is now. And the odds are slim-and getting slimmer each 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 rely on their savings to pay for the costs of living and medical health insurance.
With people living longer and needing extra money to do so, retirement planning is a vital activity even for those who are halfway to the regular retirement age of sixty-five. It may be a daunting task to plan for a few decades into the future, especially with bills, rents and mortgages to pay today, but procrastinating won't make it any less difficult.
Placing even just a little bit of money now into a savings account that works as a retirement savings plan can pay off later. 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 build up capital earning a small interest rate until there is enough to invest in a reliable security which will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another good strategy which could certainly and progressively build a nest egg is to put money into long-term bonds. Upon 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 which could provide a good foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is as safe an investment as you can ever make.
401K and IRA - West Chicago
However, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning would be 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 isn't 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 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 provide 401K and IRA rollover and review services for individuals in the West Chicago area.
