A New Year, A New Goal, and New Plan - Retirement Planning 101


Retirement Planning Strategy

Posted by admin on 2016-02-03

     It’s hard to believe that it’s already February.  However, that means there's still ~90% of the year left.  As such, it’s still prime time to make your resolutions and set your goals.  Retirement Planning is one of the most opined subjects related to goal-setting and making resolutions.  For more than 20 years I have helped clients not only plan for, but also meet their retirement goals and objectives.  The base proposition of Retirement Planning is asking yourself:  How do I prepare myself for living the years between not receiving a consistent periodic income (retirement) and my life expectancy + .20% years?  Over the next several days, I will share some simple, but important, guidelines that will help you start and maintain a strategic plan towards Retirement.

  1. Saving Strategy:   Discipline and habit-building are key elements here.  A simple, but powerful, plan to established is:  While in your 20s, save 10% of your pre-tax annual income towards retirement.  While in your 30s, increase that saving number to 20%.  While in your 40s, make it 30%.  While in your 50s, . . .  You guessed it, save 40%, and so on.  If you can stick to this simple discipline, invest at least sensibly, and don’t expect to dramatically increase your living expenditures in retirement, you will have achieved the hardest, and most powerful, part of Retirement Planning.  Keep in mind, I said "simple" discipline.  Simple doesn't mean easy.  The good news is that with every passing month and year, the "saving" part will become easier.  Easier, because it becomes a habit.  Good habits often appear as disciplines.