Live comfortably on your retirement income by planning early
How do you stretch your retirement income to make sure that you can live comfortably well beyond your retirement years? Well, while you can always reduce your expenses to make your funds last longer, there are a number of things that you can do to make sure your retirement plans don't dry up easily even if you live up to a ripe old age. How do you do it? Here are some suggestions that you may want to consider if you want to live comfortably on your retirement income:
Understand how much money you need. To enjoy a comfortable life during your retirement years, you need to know how much money you need to pay for your expenses and plot it against the money you stand to receive. If your expenses outweigh your monthly pension, then you may need to cut back on your expenses or find a way to raise the additional money that you need.
Consider delaying your retirement. Financial experts agree that if you don't have at least $200,000 in your savings account, you wouldn't have enough funds to support a comfortable lifestyle throughout your retirement years. So, while a lot of people prefer to retire earlier, an increasing number of people are actually forced to work into their retirement due to prevailing economic conditions.
However, while you can definitely have more time to build your retirement nest egg by delaying your retirement, [3] this may likewise create some serious implications with regards to your pension, Social Security and health care benefits so you better take these things into consideration before you make your final decision.
Have your investment accounts reviewed periodically. It will definitely be in your best interest to have your investment accounts reviewed and rebalanced periodically to accommodate your changing needs. If you are not sure of what you should do with your investment assets to achieve your financial goals, consider hiring a trusted financial adviser to help you make your decisions.
Catch up on your 401(k). According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the average worker contributes about 7.5% of his salary to his 401(k) and other similar retirement vehicles. While this may translate to a significant amount of money by the time he reaches his retirement age, it may still not be enough to support a comfortable retirement lifestyle. Considering this scenario, you may want to make catch-up contributions if your retirement plan allows it.
Defer collecting your Social Security benefits. If you can help it, resist the urge to collect your Social Security [4]benefits until you reach full retirement age to receive higher payouts.
Strive to stay healthy. On top of it all, maintaining good health throughout your retirement years can do wonders in stretching your retirement income so you better adopt a healthier lifestyle starting now.