NOT Just A Financial List . . .
A BETTER Way Of Planning Your Retirement Finances . . .MONEY – Where You Want It, When You Want It
You need to have your money invested in such a way that monthly income is generated for you and your spouse. This income is automatically deposited into your brokerage account when dividends are paid by each investment.
These days, when technology is readily available, you can use your computer to access your brokerage and bank accounts and set up a monthly electronic transfer of money to your checking account to pay bills and live on.
Most brokerage houses such as Schwab, Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, Ameritrade, etc. can set up this transfer in your brokerage account to whatever bank has your checking account. What you need is to fill & file forms at your local brokerage office or do it online. To do this, you need your checking account number and the routing number for your bank. This information you can get from a blank check. Once the forms are filled and signed and the transfer set up is done, you’re ready to go.
You need to do this with all your retirement accounts such as your 401K, pension plans, profit-sharing plans, IRA’s, Roth IRA’s, 403B’s, Social Security, and any other pension plans that you have. Each account, no matter where they are saved or who holds them, can set up a direct deposit to your checking account each month or when you need it. This will ensure you have enough money in your checking account when you need it.
Finally, as things change in your investments, you need to keep an eye on the cash flow and ensure enough cash is coming in to satisfy your monthly needs and that you have enough cash in a savings account to cover the monthly transfer of cash. If you have any questions, consult with your financial advisor or your brokerage house.
Savings
- Is Saving 10% of Your Income Enough for Retirement? – It’s certainly better than nothing, but it might not get you as far as you’d hoped. There’s only one way to find out.
- Average U.S. Retirement Savings By Age: How Do Yours Compare? – How do your retirement savings compare to savings by other people in your age group? Are you keeping up with the proverbial Joneses? Ahead of them? Or are you behind?
Investments
Having a brokerage account for your investments is key to preparing for retirement and managing your income when retired. This brokerage account needs to have both qualified and non-qualified accounts within its umbrella. That way all your investments are under one investment house. The brokerage needs to be tied to your regular checking account so you can transfer funds from one to the other electronically. In this age of computers, this facility is rather simple to set up and makes transferring money very easy.
Talk to your financial advisor and your banking manager about setting up these accounts and electronic transfers between them.
Income
If you are in the 99% of people who have not saved enough for retirement, you need to keep a part-time job during retirement. Most people need to keep engaged to remain young and healthy. Most boomers also need to have a job to ensure enough income comes in to take care of the monthly bills. Below are some suggestions on how to have enough income to pay for your bills in your later years. If you have been savvy enough, you have enough investments, pension and social security income to pay for all expenses. But, if not, you need to have a job to supplement your income.
- How big a role should Social Security play in your retirement? – Social Security is still a huge part of U.S. workers’ retirement plans, but they aren’t happy about it.
- Got a job at age 70, do I pay into Social Security again? – I’m 70 and have collected Social Security since age 62. Do I pay in again if I return to work??
- 3%? 4%? 5%? How much to take for retirement – Debate rages over the correct amount you should take from your retirement each year. Too much, and you could die broke. Too little, and you could cheat yourself from retirement happiness. Which is worse?
- Will working affect my Social Security payments? – It depends on when you retire. The Social Security Administration determines your so-called “full retirement age,” which is somewhere between 65 and 67 depending on when you were born.
- A Better Way to Turn a Major Asset into Retirement Income – Like Helen, most people want to remain in their own homes for as long as they are physically able. Does having a reverse mortgage make sense for you??
Estate Planning
To prepare yourself and your loved ones for when you’re no longer able to make decisions, you need 3 key documents (properly signed and witnessed before a notary) to ensure your loved ones know what to do when the time comes. These are:
- Durable Power of attorney
- Health Care Proxy
- Last Will
This list is by no means all-inclusive. The recommendation is to consult an estate planning attorney to further personalize your plan. Having the above documents in place is critical and will make things easier should the need arise to put these documents into action (if something happens to you). Use your family’s next visit as an opportunity for having what-if conversations with them so they know what to do.
- How to Have the Power-of-Attorney Talk Before It’s Too Late – When my mother was terminally ill a few years ago, I had to make medical and financial decisions on her behalf and handle her estate after she passed away….
In The News
Finally, listed below are several articles on planning for a smooth retirement and what do you need to comfortably live on in your golden years.
- Best Places to Retire – Many people dream of moving to a new location in retirement.
- How to retire early — 35 years early – Andrea Coombes’ Working Retirement – MarketWatch — For many Americans, the idea of an early retirement is pure fantasy — many surveys suggest that a good portion of us are convinced we’ll never be able to retire at all. But what if retirement saving…
- Protecting the elderly from investment fraud – Money Watch, a personal finance column that runs every Saturday.
- How Money Affects Happiness – With money ahead, will Mega Millions winners find happiness far behind?
- Road to retirement: Ways to make retirement… – Deanell Reece Tacha has the characteristic enthusiasm of a 3L: “I’m in my third year here and I love it. It’s very interesting and challenging. I think there is something to not just letting yourself…
Let us know what you think and what other things we should be looking at. What is important to you!!