- Maximize your retirement accounts – Trust me, Uncle Sam wants you to retire just as much as you, alongside your employer. How come? Well, Uncle Sam is helping you in the form of accounts with special tax advantages, such as an IRA. Anyone who earns an income can open such an account.
- Start investing long-term – Consider setting up your portfolio for success by choosing a set of investments that have attractive long-term returns.
- Take advantage of your catch-up contributions – If by any chance you’re a bit behind your retirement planning, your mid-50s might be the greatest opportunity to catch up. All you have to do is supercharge your savings. And Uncle Sam agrees to this very much, otherwise, why would contribution limits to retirement accounts be higher for the 50+ crowd? Learn everything you need to know about Social Security, a defined-benefit pension, and Medicare.
- Learn how to budget for a long retirement – Truth to be told, if you really want to be independent when you retire, you’ll have to leave the workforce only when you know for sure that you have plenty of resources. Studies show us that 50% of those who decided to retire at 65 will have to undergo some cutbacks on their lifestyle, and the percentage drops to only 15% for those who retire after 70. That’s what happens when you delay your Social Security!
- Get some help with retirement planning – If you reached a certain point in your life where you feel overwhelmed by all that retirement planning, don’t worry. Maybe it’s time to consider hiring a fee-only financial planner. Some of them will actually take care of your assets, hence charging a percentage of those assets, but also provide for a proper retirement analysis.
