Three Important Questions for Retirement Planning; Part Two

As we talked about in part one of this series, planning your retirement is only as good as how these three things might culminate:

• How long you might live
• How well your investments might (or might not) work
• How much money you will require to live comfortably until you die

We know that those are things that not many can ever predict. There are asset protection plans that attorneys Cohen and Oalican can help you to understand. In this installment of “Three Important Questions for Retirement Planning”, we will explain more about protecting all that you’ve worked for.

How much monthly income will you need to survive when you retire?

Nobody can tell you what inflation rates, health care costs, or tax rates will do in the future. First thing you should do is decide when you would like to retire and what type of lifestyle you would be happy with. There is obviously a benefit in saving as much as possible for your retirement. If the market does well, your retirement plan and trusts will do well, but even if the market doesn’t do well, a dollar saved is still a dollar saved and a higher percentage saved is better than a lower percentage saved.

Saving, living on less and/or delaying your retirement

1. Saving. It is recommended to save at least 15% of your salary while saving. Some say 10%, but it’s all about playing it safe. There is also a hidden benefit to regular saving: when people make a habit of saving, they usually become more modest spenders.
2. Delaying your retirement. Retiring later than you regularly planned raises your monthly Social Security/Medicaid benefits. Your benefits almost double if you wait until you’re 70 as opposed to retiring at 62.
3. Living on less. How much you think you need at retirement could be a lot less than you think. You should definitely aim high with your retirement plan, but there are hobbies that you could pick up that cost less than your current hobby and you might like it even more than your current hobby. Author Ralph Warner said so well, “You'll do much better planning for retirement if you recognize that it's not all about money." 

Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.