It's been said that we spend more time planning our vacations than we spend on important issues like our retirement. However, by failing to plan, you could be planning to fail.
By having a plan in place for your finances, you can spend more of your time focusing on the things you enjoy.
Having the right tools and resources at your fingertips is an important part of making smart decisions. Here you will find information that will help you throughout your years in retirement.
Managing Your Retirement Worksheet
To decide where you're headed, you have to know where you stand.
Now that you've learned the basic principles for managing your retirement, it's time to prepare for a meeting with your financial advisor.
Print this worksheet and take some notes or write down your questions to get started.
Choice of Withdrawal Rate Chart
How much you can spend in retirement depends on many factors, including your your age, comfort level with risk, your goals, inflation and life expectancy.
The lower your initial withdrawal rate, the longer your money will likely last. If you retire at age 65 and want to increase how much you withdraw each year to account for inflation, we believe an initial rate of about 4% is appropriate. However, it's important to work with your financial advisor to develop a strategy that is based on your particular goals.
Use this chart to see how long your money might last in retirement.*
*This chart is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any current or future investment decisions. Your money may or may not last as long as the chart indicates.
How will inflation impact you?
Rising vs. Fixed Withdrawal Chart
A fixed-income investment will not increase along with your expenses. By putting all your money in fixed income, or by taking more money in the early years, you are essentially making a trade off - taking out more money today, which leaves potentially less to take out later.
Our guidance incorporates a lower withdrawal rate upfront and assumes you increase that amount each year to keep up with your rising expenses.
Use this chart to see how rising and fixed withdrawals compare with the costs of future expenses.
Don't plan alone for your retirement years.
Let your financial advisor help you get there.