How to Make a Flawless Retirement Plan?

With an increasing number of Americans struggling to clear off their debts and filing for bankruptcy, it has become more important than ever to chalk out a financial plan which can smoothly sail you out of the rough patches after your retirement.

Many people start planning for their retirement long before they actually retire. Yet, there are still a large number making some pretty big retirement mistakes. Read on to know if you are one of them.

1. Lack of proper planning: You need to have a good idea of how much you actually need to save up for your retirement. For this, you can start with a few basic steps by creating a rough estimate of your current expenses and dividing them into categories viz. fixed expenses such as home payment, utilities, taxes etc. and discretionary expenses which can cover groceries, clothing, entertainment and the like.
2. Based on the expenses that you know will significantly increase or decrease over the years, it becomes much easier now to estimate how much you would need for retirement lifestyle changes.
3. Making use of Social Security at the wrong time: Social Security benefits form a part of most people’s retirement plan resources. If you are uncertain about whether to start receiving Social Security benefits at early retirement (age 62) or waiting until full retirement (ages 65-67 or later), you can seek advice of a trusted financial advisor. He can also help you determine when to make withdrawals from other accounts.
4. Not saving enough money: According to a recent government report, an average U.S. household saves $60,000 for retirement. Many observers report that Americans do not save enough and that retirement savings are especially inadequate. This is said to be the case for households and workers, as well as business owners and the self-employed. Only half the work force is covered by an employer-sponsored pension plan and this share has not changed for almost three decades. Over 9 million self-employed individuals are without retirement plan coverage.
5. Premature use of money: Many employees making use of workplace retirement plan, cash out their 401(k) balances when they change jobs. Since borrowing and hardship withdrawals are allowed under the rules, people frequently tap into their balances. This greatly hampers the long term growth of their assets. However, rolling your 401(k) balances over to new employers or IRAs, during a job change, can be beneficial to you and help you save up for your post-retirement life.
6. Investment risks: Investing too much in stocks can be a risky affair. According to a report completed in 2008, most investors approaching retirement had more than 80 percent of their account balances in the wrong asset allocation. Here again, a financial advisor can help you in taking the right decision after assessing market trends so that you do not suffer any market loss.

Today it has become more important than ever to plan carefully for retirement. If you can avoid the planning mistakes, you can easily increase the long term effectiveness of your retirement savings. Make sure that you are on the right track to ensure a happy and peaceful retired life.

Filed Under: Debt