Retirement Planning Services – Wheeling
For those 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" would do. But guess what? With many "baby boomers" either already in the midst of retirement or viewing it on the horizon, "Generation X" stands out as the next generation of individuals to reach old age. Sure, it's still a ways off, but those in their 30s and 40s must start focusing their investment planning on retirement and ensuring they have the sort of retirement they are working hard to enjoy. Below are great tips on preparing for retirement:
Retirement life in the future will be different than the retirement right now. It will likely be much 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 earlier times.
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 4 years more than the average life span in 1980. So investment planning for retirement has to account for a longer period of time right now than a generation or two in the past.
Social Security and Retirement - Wheeling
On the downside, Social Security is going to be a far less reliable income source than it is now. And the odds are slim-and getting slimmer each year-that retirees 20 and 30 years from right 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 depend on their financial savings to cover the expenses of living and health insurance.
With individuals living for a longer time and needing more cash to do so, retirement planning is an essential activity even for those people who are halfway to the standard retirement age of sixty-five. It may be an intimidating task to plan for a couple of decades into the future, particularly with bills, housing costs and mortgages to pay today, but procrastinating won't make it any easier.
Putting even just a little bit of money now into a savings account that works as a retirement savings plan can pay off in the future. The interest you receive on money in a savings account will allow your initial investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will provide a place where you can pile up capital earning a small interest rate until there is enough to invest in a trusted security which will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another solid approach that can certainly and gradually build a nest egg is to put money into long-term bonds. After maturation of the bond, you will get back your initial investment and also all the interest that collected over the life of the bond. This is a significant amount of money for a 20- or 30-year bond-money that can provide a nice foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is as safe an investment that you can ever make.
401K and IRA - Wheeling
Nevertheless, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning is to put cash in a 401K plan at work or in an IRA opened with an investment house. For those for whom a 401K is not a retirement planning option, 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 annually.
For more information, please feel free to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we will be happy to help you! We offer 401K and IRA rollover and review services for folks in the Wheeling area.