After working and raising a family for twenty years, retirement is probably something you are looking forward to and dream about regularly. With people living longer and longer with each passing generation, it’s easy to be worried about how you will be able to save for 25 to 30 years of retirement. You don’t want to compromise your desired lifestyle. You don’t want to be worrying about money. You want to be able to travel the world.
The best way to alleviate your retirement savings worries is to get a handle on your finances. Here are some tips you can use to help plan for your retirement, worry-free.
Choose your retirement age
The first step is to pick the year in which you wish to retire. The average age of retirement (between the years 2009 and 2013) was 63 for private sector employees, and 61 for the public sector. If you own your own business, the average age of retirement is 66.[1] You can use these statistics as a guideline, but choosing your retirement year is a choice specific to your unique situation. The main question to ask yourself is: how much time do you need to save enough to retire with your desired lifestyle?
Estimate your retirement nest egg
The best way to get an accurate estimate of how much money you need to save is to speak to a financial advisor. The retirement planning specialists at The Beacon Group of Assante Financial Management, Ltd. can help you determine the right savings goal for your situation. When you meet with them, they go over your desired monthly budget, your vacation plans and other planned retirement endeavours with you. Using that knowledge, they can give an accurate retirement savings goal and prepare a plan to help you reach it.
Retirement Savings Strategies
If you are worried that you could outlive your savings, a financial advisor can help you build a dependable income source that will cover your basic lifestyle needs. Some examples of a dependable income source include life annuities and government pension benefits. To help fund long-term needs, you may be advised to invest a healthy portion of your savings for growth.
The best way to alleviate retirement savings anxiety is to have a plan in place. If you have concerns about your plan’s ability to meet your retirement goals, you should contact a retirement planning specialist at The Beacon Group of Assante Financial Management, Ltd.
[1] Statistics Canada CANSIM, Table 282-0051.
