A Checklist for Getting Ready to Retire
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If retirement is on the horizon, we must ramp up our preparations. This checklist might assist you in planning ahead of time for things like Social Security, health care bills, and how to transition from saving to spending.
Increase your focus on retirement.
- Outline your retirement vision and plan a strategy to achieve it. How you want to spend your time – perhaps working part-time or spending time with family, volunteering, traveling, and so on.
- Increase your retirement plan contributions and savings if you still have a few years till retirement.
- Examine your debt to see whether there is any that you should pay off now rather than putting off till retirement.
Determine your income requirements.
- Determine how much after-tax Income you believe you’ll require and how many years you expect to spend in retirement.
- Don’t forget about other financial duties, including caring for parents, supporting children, and any outstanding debts.
- Don’t forget that your Income needs to keep the pace up with inflation.
Plan ahead of time for the cost of health care.
Because health care is one of the most expensive expenses for retirees, you should estimate your income needs as follows:
- Understand your Medicare options, including fees and coverage, as well as the timing of enrollment.
- If you’re leaving your employment before the age of 65, figure out how you’ll pay for health care. Among the alternatives are:
- Enrolling in your spouse’s medical insurance plan
- Extending your employer’s COBRA coverage
- Consider opening a health savings account (HSA) on your own or via your company if one is available.
- Think about getting long-term care insurance.
Create a strategy for a regular flow of Income
- Consider when it is best to accept your Social Security benefit, even if it will only be a percentage of your retirement income.
- Estimate your additional sources of Income, such as pensions, part-time work, and government assistance.
- Plan an appropriate withdrawal strategy from your portfolio to ensure that your money lasts.
- Align your portfolio so that it provides Income today while also having the potential for growth in the future.
- Think of annuities as a way to supplement your guaranteed income sources.
Your financial advisor may work with you to evaluate whether your income strategy is sustainable and assist you in putting it into effect.
