Planning for retirement can be stressful, and it is only natural that you worry that you are making the wrong decisions, or that your plan won’t work the way you hope it will. Those that don’t have a lot of money do have reason to worry when it comes to retirement, but if you create a step-by-step plan to follow, it can seem a lot less stressful.
Take Inventory of What You Have
- Make a list of all of your assets, including your retirement savings, 401K, and any other money that you have tucked away.
- Next you’ll want to create a list of any non-liquid assets that you have, such as real estate and business interests.
- Make a list of your risk protection strategies, such as your health insurance and long-term care insurance. You will need risk protection at some point in time, so if you don’t have it you should get it as soon as possible.
Determine How Much Money You Still Need to Retire
- Now that you know what you have, you will need to make an estimate of what your retirement income will be, as well as your expected expenses. The income you’ll want to include will be money you get from Social Security, investments, pensions, and annuities.
- Now you will need to compare your future income to living expenses you expect to incur during your retirement. If you come up short, now is the time to change your investment strategy to ensure that you have more retirement income. Contact a financial advisor that can help you do what is needed to improve your retirement portfolio.
- Keep your retirement plan updated; evaluate your status at least once a year, more often if you are getting close to retirement. If you keep track of what you have it will be easier to make any adjustments that are needed to improve your retirement funding.
Larry Parman
Attorney at Law
Founder and Owner at Parman & Easterday
After helping his own family deal with a lengthy probate and the IRS following his father’s untimely death in a farm accident, Larry Parman made a decision to help families create effective estate plans designed to reduce taxes, minimize legal interference with the transfer of assets to one’s heirs, and protect his clients’ assets from predators and creditors.
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