Imagine for a moment that you’re enjoying a fabulous dinner on the balcony of your Italian condo, gazing out at the Alpine peaks, or a palm-studded seashore. In this dream, you’re not on vacation though, and you don’t have to pack up and head back to the U.S. after just a week or two.
In this dream, you’re already home!
In fact, there are plenty of affordable living options available around the globe today. Take, for instance, Italy. Homes in areas just outside of Rome can be purchased for under $90,000 – and in some cases, even less.
And, this laid-back, enjoyable lifestyle won’t require you to spend all of your hard-earned savings in other areas, either, like dining out and sight-seeing. But before you hop on the next plane out, it’s important that you secure enough income to pay for it.
The good news is that it might not require as much income as you think to live this international lifestyle! With the combination of Social Security and guaranteed lifetime annuity income, you could be all set.
Lining Up Your Retirement Income Sources
Provided that you and/or your spouse have enough “work credits,” you can begin receiving Social Security retirement income as early as age 62. But, if you’re still working, or you have enough income from other sources, you can wait longer before opting for this income source to begin. If you go this route, each year that you wait to start taking Social Security after your full retirement age, your benefit amount will increase by approximately 8% each year until you turn age 70. To give you a more accurate idea of how much monthly Social Security benefit you are eligible for, you can visit the Social Security Benefits Planner HERE.Filling in Your Retirement Income Gaps
Although many retirees can count on at least some amount of income from Social Security, oftentimes this source alone is not enough. In fact, the Social Security Administration estimates that these benefits only replace about 40% of a medium income earner’s pre-retirement wages. For higher income earners, this figure is closer to only 27%. So, how can you fill in the “gap” between what you need and what you’ll actually have coming in? One option is to purchase an annuity. Annuities are designed to produce an income stream for a set amount of time (such as ten years), or even for the remainder of your life. This can help to alleviate the worry about running out of income in retirement. It can also allow you to have much more control over how – and where – you live, knowing that you can count on this reliable income source. But it is important to note that not all annuities are the same. So, before you make a long-term financial commitment on the purchase of an annuity, it is recommended that you talk with an annuity expert who can guide you through all of the “fine print,” and who can customize a plan that fits in with your short- and long-term financial goals.How to Set Your Global Retirement Living Plan in Motion
It has often been said that money can’t buy happiness. But it definitely can allow you to have more options in terms of where you go, what you do, and how you spend your time. Now that’s true financial security! Depending on where you decide to reside in retirement, your lifestyle can be as economical or expensive as you want it to be. But it all must start with a plan that includes generating regular incoming cash flow without having to worry about losing your hard-earned savings in the next stock market crash. Are you ready to take a peek at how you can set up a reliable income stream that will last for the rest of your lifetime (regardless of how long that may be)? If so, let’s talk. At Annuity Gator, we specialize in educating consumers about annuities, which in turn allows you to determine which type of annuity may be right for you, based on your specific needs and objectives. So, feel free to reach out to us using our secure contact form and set up a time to talk with one of your annuity experts.
