How Old Should You Be When You Retire?

Our #1 goal is your financial security.  Oklahoma City elder law attorneys can help you create a comprehensive retirement plan that will ensure you are financially secure as a senior. It is imperative that you take proactive steps to prepare for a financially secure retirement because you want to be able to support yourself without worry during your golden years.

Parman & Easterday can assist you with setting retirement savings goals, making a plan to invest in accounts that minimize taxes, and taking steps to protect assets as you age. You should give us a call to find out the ways in which our Oklahoma City elder law attorneys can help you to prepare for retirement.

How Old Should You Be When You Retire?

Deciding what age to retire can be a difficult decision, but it is important that you consider all of the key issues. When deciding when to retire, you should think about how you will maintain social connections. Many older retirees experience health issues resulting from loneliness or resulting from feeling as if their days do not have a purpose. You should make plans to stay connected to your community and stay involved with activities you love.

You also need to consider how you will support yourself financially. Seniors typically rely on Social Security to provide a substantial portion of their income. However, you do not want to rely on Social Security as your entire income, as Social Security benefits are not designed to be your sole source of support. Experts often say Social Security benefits will replace around 40 percent of your pre-retirement income.  You’re likely to find that estimate too high.  Most experts recommend you have around 70 percent to 80 percent of pre-retirement income to live on.

The amount of Social Security benefits you receive will be impacted by the age at which you retire. This should generally be a consideration when you decide how old you need to be before you leave the workforce. You become eligible to retire and claim Social Security benefits as early as age 62. However, your full retirement age is much later. If you were born after 1960, your full retirement age is 67. If you retire before full retirement age, benefits are reduced by 5/9 of 1 percent for each of the first 36 months you retire before 67.  They are reduced by an additional 5/12 of 1 percent of you retire more than 36 months before your full retirement age (FRA).

The benefits reduction from retiring early could be as much as 30 percent if you retire at 62 instead of waiting to claim Social Security until 67. And, if you wait even longer and do not begin claiming retirement benefits until you are 70, benefits actually increase for each month you delay between your full retirement age and your 70th birthday.

When you retire young, you not only reduce your Social Security benefits but you also need to begin relying on your savings sooner and will need to rely on your savings for longer. This means you need a more substantial nest egg if you do not want to run out of money later on in your life.

Unfortunately, many people do not get to retire at their desired age. While people often plan to work later in life, even to age 70, it is common to retire at 62 or 63. These are common ages to leave the workforce because many people start to experience health issues at this time that prevent them from continuing to work.  It can also be difficult to find a good paying job this late in life, even with laws prohibiting age discrimination.

You need to make sure you have enough money saved to support you, especially if you have to retire when you are younger than planned. Parman & Easterday will help you to take advantage of tax breaks during your career so you can save enough to retire.

Getting Help from Oklahoma City Elder Law Attorneys

Oklahoma City elder law attorneys at Parman & Easterday can provide the personalized help you need to be prepared for retirement. We can work with you to understand the rules for investing in Individual Retirement Arrangements, which either allow you to invest with pre-tax dollars or which allow your money to grow tax free.

To find out more about how our firm can help with all of your retirement planning needs, and with protecting your retirement assets, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call today at (405) 843-6100 or contact us online to get your personalized retirement planning process underway.