Author Archives: prrichar1

Can you retire early?

Can you retire earlyCan you retire early, or do you even want to retire early? The surprising answer to this question is that many people do not want to retire early for many different reasons. Some would not know what to do with themselves. Others did not start saving soon enough and needed more money set aside for retirement. And many more are facing mounting expenses for health issues. They may need money to support their kids or mortgages that they never paid off. Regardless of whatever your situation is, planning for an early retirement is always a plus. You can still work as long as you want for whatever reason, but at least you have the flexibility to make your own decision about when you retire.

Can you retire early?

Have your financial planner assess your financial situation, taking into account your age, your savings, your debt, and your plans for retirement. Consider this a first draft. It is ok to change it as you go. You may make changes anyway as you near retirement. The important thing is to have a plan and to know when it might be feasible to retire.

Let’s assume that you have paid off your home, you have a pension at 55, and you have sufficient savings to live the lifestyle that you want for retirement. You also have your health, and this really represents the ideal situation. If you decide to work longer, you have the confidence of knowing that you have sufficient income when you do decide to retire. If a health issue gets in the way, at least you will be comfortable.

On the other hand, if any of these assumptions are not correct, you may have to work until you are older before you can comfortably retire unless you take some steps to correct whatever the issue may be. Completing the financial plan and asking yourself Can you retire early will put you on the road to ensuring that your retirement is what you had envisaged.

Some people do not want to know the answer to the question, Can you retire early? However, asking and answering the tough questions can always help you plan for the future.

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Am I on the right track for retirement

Am I on the right track for retirementMany consumers asked themselves every day whether they have enough money saved for retirement. Am I on the right track for retirement? They are struggling to pay the bills, look after their families, save for emergencies, and save for retirement. They really want to know how much money they need to have to live comfortably during their retirement years. There are many options with respect to retirement. Including living independently, living with friends, and moving in with the kids.

So economists feel that you should have 1.4 times your annual salary set aside by age 35, 3.7 times by age 45 and 7.1 times by age 55. This can be a great deal of money for many people. For example at age 35 if you make 50,000 a year you should have $70,000 saved for retirement. At age 55 you should have $350,000 saved for retirement. But starting at a young age to begin saving and allowing the income to be reinvested these numbers are achievable.

Am I on the right track for retirement

What can you do to verify your retirement programs progress

There are a variety of steps that you can take to assess how you’re doing relative to your retirement plan. For example start off with reviewing your retirement investments and asked for a projection of what these investments will be at various age levels. Secondly find a good retirement planning tool that allows you to input your savings, your anticipated savings and your expenses at retirement age. You should also be able to enter all of your income from pension, government support and your savings into this plan.

Once you’ve completed your initial plan you will get an assessment of whether you have enough money set-aside for retirement and what your retirement will look like. The next step is to make adjustments in real life in terms of working longer, earning more money, saving more money, or reducing your overall expenses to enable you to have the type of retired life that you would like to have.

It is this self-assessment that can make the difference in achieving the quality of life that you would like to have during retirement. Don’t wait get started now with a savings plan and also analyzing your retirement future regardless of what age you are right now. The sooner you do it the better off you’ll be.

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Secrets of successful retirement savers

successful retirement saversIf you’re thinking about retirement in your early 40s 50s or even in your 60s you’re probably wondering what does it take to have a happy and successful retirement. Recently several authors did a study and surveyed over 510 people to learn the magic behind retirement and successful retirement savers.

The following are some of the comments that came out of the study. One of the most significant items regarding retirement is the focus on living within their means. They had a savings plan for retirement. They have calculated how much they would need when retired and began saving for that eventuality.

Over 60% of the people surveyed we’re saving between six and 20% of their income every year. Of course there were some people who are saving more. Some people are saving less but the majority have savings plan in place which was in conjunction with any pension that they might be receiving.

Many of those people up to 44%, said they were comfortably retired. They had less than $500,000 in assets. This was a huge surprise to the authors preparing this report. It really means coming to terms with what they want out of retirement. Also how much money they will need during retirement. If you follow the 4% rule then someone with $500,000 in assets could expect to have $20,000 in income from theirr savings plus pension income. This may be sufficient for many however for many others they would require much more in savings.

Successful Retirement Savers

Another important point about successful retirees is that they are prudent with her funds. Some people would’ve thought them as being frugal. But only 35% of the people consider themselves to be frugal. The rest said that they would spend enough to live comfortably. Obviously it is a question of managing income and expenses to everyone satisfaction.

many people also used financial advisors, up to 62% of the people surveyed used advisors. And they felt that the financial advisor helped them with their savings.

For their retirement, many people felt they made big mistakes. While they were saving for their retirement was not getting into the stock market soon enough or getting out too late. Another concern was substantial healthcare costs. Over 25% are concerned about maintaining their standard of living while dealing with inflation, lifespan increasing and healthcare costs.

Many people have a car that is over two years old and have their homes paid for. They avoid carrying credit card balances and avoid borrowing money. They have a monthly budget and they stick to it and they have discipline as investors.