10 Steps To A Stronger Retirement

What should you be doing to prepare for the realities?

1. Get a plan. A 401(k) or IRA is not the same thing as a retirement plan, and neither is an actively managed brokerage account. Once you retire, you want to know how much income you’ll have coming in every month and how you will handle the unexpected. Ask your financial advisor for a plan, not just an investment, and set about preparing a budget. 2. Visit your doctor. Medicare currently covers an estimated 51 percent of your health care expenses once you reach eligibility at age 65. You can prevent or at least postpone the development of many common age-related health problems by visiting your doctor regularly for preventive health care. 3. Keep active. A lot of unhelpful habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol in excess and eating junk food happen when a person is idle or sitting on the couch in front of the T.V. Ideas: join a running club or bowling league, take an art class or start a monthly game night with neighbors and friends. 4. Volunteer. The Corporation for National and Community Service issued a 2007 report that finds those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer. What skills do you have to offer your community? 5. Get a guarantee. Unless you have money squirreled away somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million, you’re going to need a guaranteed element to your portfolio. Confusion exists about how to do this, however. Not all annuities actually guarantee your principal. Check out the new 2016 updated Variable Annuity Consumer Report HERE to uncover the 8 essential facts about one kind of annuity most experts caution retirees against. 6. Maintain access. You don’t want to be put in the position of having to pay surrender fees and penalties to access your own money. Before you get into any investment, make sure you investigate your own liquidity needs. How much cash do you need on hand in order to feel comfortable? 7. Avoid unnecessary fees. Your retirement could span anywhere from 20 to 30 years, which is why you don’t want to underestimate the impact of regular and reoccurring fees. Before you get into any investment, be sure to shop around and compare the fees to make sure you are getting the most benefits for your hard-earned dollar. 8. Arrange for a pay raise. When you work with a financial advisor to design an income strategy, you can arrange to have pay increases built right into your plan. Ask us about income strategies that could add up to 10% more income to your lifetime retirement pay. 9. Investigate insurance options. Life insurance companies today have found some creative ways to help retirees address the concern of funding health care later in life. If you are healthy enough now, you might qualify for a combination plan that can remove a potentially enormous financial burden later in life. 10. Ask about additional annuity benefits. Even if you have a pre-existing condition or can’t afford traditional long-term care insurance, there are many annuities out there that offer long-term care riders to help you plan for chronic conditions. To shop around, get the Ultimate Annuity Buyer’s Guide HERE. We live during complicated times, and retirement is a one-shot deal. Make sure you get it right. If you’d like to schedule a consultation, compare one annuity against another, or investigate the different ways you can generate guaranteed income to provide for your retirement lifestyle, give us a call today or fill out the form below, and one of our qualified financial advisors will be happy to contact you, no obligations, and no strings attached.