The formula hasn’t changed. If you work 40 hours a week year after year, eventually you are supposed to be able to relax, lounge around and enjoy all the fruits of your labor. But for some, the choices they make now is threatening to dim the promising light at the end of their tunnel.
Achieving financial security during your retirement years doesn’t just happen by chance. It requires preparation. The more you know about the relationship between your financial actions now and their consequences later, the better prepared you are to make informed choices and thus increase the likelihood that later in life you will be the one swinging the golf clubs and not the one carrying them.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind to make sure your golden years remain as golden as possible.
Preparing for Retirement
There are many obstacles in the way of a successful retirement, but financial experts commonly identify 4 types of retirement risk that most people have to face: investment, inflation, longevity and healthcare. The first step in getting ready for retirement is speaking with a certified financial planner who can help you understand each of these risks and taking an honest look at how your situation leaves you exposed to these potential losses.
From an accountant’s point of view, it’s important that you stay on top of your financial situation, both for your business and for personal as it is challenging to make the right decision without all of the information available.
As to retirement planning, there are a few options to consider. Retirement accounts like Traditional IRAs provide a nice tax deduction today (which can boost your balance significantly over the next several decades), with no tax payments until you start to withdraw money from it. This being said, there are penalties if you withdraw any money from it before you turn 59 and a half and there are mandatory withdrawals once you hit 70 and a half years old (so you can pay taxes on your earnings).
On the other side there are retirement plans like Roth IRAs. With a Roth, you don’t get a tax deduction now. But there are no mandatory withdrawals and every penny you put into a Roth subsequently grows tax-free, providing you the ability to accrue a nice nest egg over the course of your career.
There are a lot of different opinions as to which is better; some people think taking the tax deduction now is better because no one knows how the tax code will be structured when you retire while others tout the long-term benefit of a Roth. The truth of the matter is there is no right answer. We typically recommend that our clients have both a Roth and a traditional IRA and make the decision on which to use based on that year’s taxes. If putting money into a traditional IRA is all it takes to enable you to move to a lower tax bracket, it is hard to argue against. If the tax deduction won’t provide outsized savings, perhaps it is a good year to add to your Roth.
During Retirement
A very important aspect to keep in mind when planning for retirement is what your taxable income will be. A majority of people not only see their income go down when they retire, subsequently dropping them down tax brackets, but also that the majority of their income is from investments, which is taxed at a lower rate than regular income. This is something that you should take into account when sitting down with a financial advisor and determining how much money you will need to retire comfortably.
If you are looking to set up a financial plan, complete with a detailed budget and forward-looking tax mitigation strategies, we would be happy to put you in contact with a few financial advisors so you can find one that best fits your needs.