Is Portugal A Nice Place To Retire
In general, Portugal is a nice place to retire. The cost of living is the lowest of all Western European countries. Portugal has a warm and mild climate year-round. Portugal has favorable tax rules for retirees and foreign residents. The Non-Habitual Resident program in Portugal offers reduced taxes and sometimes event tax exemption on different income sources. This can be beneficial for retirees. You can learn more about this program on The Non-Habitual Resident official website.
The country has a lot to offer. Youll find mountainous and green areas in the North, close to Porto. Vibrant city life in the metropolitan region of Lisbon. A year-round summer climate with perfect beaches, and the best retirement lifestyle settings in the Algarve, the most southern part of Portugal.
Theres also a lot of history to find in Portugal. The country was once one of the largest marine countries in the world. Between the 15th and 17th century Portugal was known for its trade routes and explorations around the globe. For example, Cape Verde Islands were discovered by Portuguese explorers.
I specifically like the fact that youll connect with native speakers when using the Busuu application. Find out more about Busuu here.
Accessibility To A Doctor
If youre relocating and need to find another doctor, its important that you can get one. Even in smaller towns, there may be a waitlist to get your own doctor.
If you cant find one, youll be thrown back and forth having to explain your medical conditions to different doctors you see. Its important for retirees to have a medical facility and doctors accessible.
The concentration of doctors and how many people live in your desired area is something to take into account so you can get medical care when you need it without any hassle.
Some places are better than others and were going to add this important information to our list of the best places to live in Canada.
Have A Sense Of Purpose And Meaning
Make every day meaningful. Oxford University suggests that a meaningful life lessens the effects of aging. And, research from Patrick Hill and Nicholas Turiano found that people who have a sense or purpose or direction in life outlive their peers.
In fact, people with a sense of purpose had a 15 percent lower risk of death, compared with those who said they were more or less aimless. And it didnt seem to matter when people found their direction. It could be in their 20s, 50s, or 70s even when controlled for other factors that affect longevity like age, gender, and emotional well-being.
The study found that a sense of purpose led to a longer life. Explore 6 ways to find meaning and purpose for retirement.
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Make Friends With Your Future Self
Perhaps the best way to plan for retirement is to visualize your future really think about the details of who you will be, where and why. Being able to imagine now who you will be in the future and what your needs and desires will be at that time is perhaps the most important aspect of planning.
Explore these 7 ways to visualize your future so that you can create and achieve a secure and happy retirement!
Cost Of Groceries Internet And Entertainment
So we covered the rental costs, but when you make a monthly budget, you need to take other costs into account as well. Grocery shopping doesnt have to be expensive in Portugal.
Tavira is known for its many local fresh markets, where you can buy farmers products for a lower price. There are three large supermarkets located in Tavira Continente, Pingo Doce, and Lidl.
Continente is Portugals largest supermarket, similar to Walmart. Its more like a department store that offers many different products, from food to non-food. Continente is also the most expensive on this list.
Lidl and Pingo Doce dont vary much from each other. However, Lidl is a supermarket concern throughout Europe known for its budget prices and quality products. We always go to the Lidl for our grocery shopping, so its something I can recommend if you want to save money.
You can easily do your weekly grocery shopping at Lidl for 50 , including beer or wine. We shop at Lidl once a week, buying fresh vegetables and other products for a family of three, and we dont spend more than 60 a week. And thats in The Netherlands, Portugal is even cheaper!
Lets say you want to go to a restaurant once a week for a nice dinner. On average, youll pay 25 a person, often including a three-course meal and drinks.
These data sim cards dont allow you to make phone calls or send SMS messages.
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Create The Most Complete Retirement Plan Possible
Most people have lived their lives day to day, month to month, year to year.
However, retirement is the time to have the best and most complete plan possible. You want to spend this time of your life doing what you want to do and you want to make sure you have the finances and wherewithal to achieve what is important.
Online retirement planning tools like the NewRetirement Planner can help you plan. However, be careful of simple retirement calculators. Those can be good for quick answers, but arent reliable enough for financial security. Working with a financial advisor is another excellent way to achieve your goals.
Be Proactive In Dealing With Debt
You almost always want to grab debt by the horns as the longer balances remain outstanding the more interest you end up paying. Whats more, once youve cleared the debt, the money you spend on interest can be deployed in your retirement savings account.
As you get closer to retirement, its even more important to tackle debt as payments may become more burdensome when youre on a fixed income. Thats why many financial advisors suggest bringing down your balances when youre still working.
Read More:How To Pay Off Debt In Retirement
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Prioritize Your Financial Goals
Retirement is probably not your only savings goal. Lots of people have financial goals they feel are more pressing, such as paying down credit card or student loan debt or building up an emergency fund.
Generally, you should aim to save for retirement at the same time you’re building your emergency fund especially if you have an employer retirement plan that matches any portion of your contributions.
» Go deeper: Check out our guide to help you juggle multiple financial goals setting them, prioritizing them and keeping them
Research The Best Places To Retire And Go There
New lists about the best places to retire are common. While it is possible that you already live in the best place for you, it is also possible that there is a better place for your retirement. Best of all, relocating may give you more money for retirement expenses if you manage to downsize or move to a more economical location.
Retirement doesnt have to mean that youll stay in the same house where youve always lived. Downsizing can free up your time. And moving to a 50+ community can surround you with like-minded people with similar interests. Theres less home maintenance, too.
Not sure where to go? Try this Retirement Destination Checklist.
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What To Consider When Planning For Retirement
Here are a few key questions to ask yourself as you think about a retirement plan:
- When do you want to retire? Are you planning to work until age 65 or until you are older than that? Do you have a goal of retiring early? How many more years you plan to spend in the workforce significantly affects how much money you are likely to need. If you choose to work until you are older, not only do your investments have more time to grow, but the number of retirement years you need to fund is slightly reduced.
- Where do you want to live? Are you going to stay in your current home or downsize? Do you want to stay in the same area or retire somewhere warm or closer to relatives? The cost of living in the area where you’d like to live as a senior citizen is another major factor impacting how much money you will need in retirement.
- How will you pay for your living expenses? Your Social Security retirement income isn’t likely to be enough to cover all of your expenses, so will you also have a pension? A 401? Will you need to save or invest money as well? Another factor to consider is the magnitude of your living expenses themselves. Whether you own or rent property in retirement can significantly change the amount of your living expenses.
Want Health In Retirement Make Exercise Fun
Try making exercise something you look forward to instead of something you have to do. Instead of walking on a treadmill, take walks through the park or go for mini hikes. Still does not appeal to you? Why not listen to music or, better yet, bring a friend along and talk and laugh as you get the heart rate going.
Best of all, there is a bonus to the fun! Research from Cornell Food and Brand Lab found that those who think they are having fun while exercising end up eating less than those who are doing it for exercise.
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Live Below Your Means
My family grew up so modestly, but I just wanted more when I started working, she says. I never lived within my meansI used credit cards a lot, even though I paid them off. But I wasnt saving.
Lifestyle creep is a term used to describe leading a more expensive lifestyle as your income increasesand its something many financial planners warn us to avoid. Its natural to want more or nicer things as you make more money, but saving and investing more rather than buying more can pay off big in the long run.
Any time that we reached a good moment, Id say, Its time to move into a better house. We never stayed in one house long enough to pay it off, June says. I would advise anybody to live below your means and start saving immediately.
Plan For A Longer And Healthier Life In Retirement
In the 1950s, people retiring at age 65 lived until 78. Todays retirees can expect an average lifespan of 83 or 84 years which means that half of you will live even longer than that.
Your expanded lifespan means many things:
- That your retirement savings will need to last longer
- Your overall health-related costs will be higher now than ever before
- You will need to plan for different phases of retirement each with its own financial requirements
Use the Retirement Planner to find out how long your money will last.
Instead of a time for slowing down, retirement could very well be the doorway you walk through to a whole new experience. Strive for an active, inspiring, fulfilling life where youll learn new things, listen to new music, dance new steps, and embrace the things that you already love.
If you find that youve got a million excuses about why you cant do this or that, maybe its time for a change of perspective. So, you arent physically able to hike? Chances are you can take a walk on the beach. You get the idea.
With a strong mind, healthy body, and a well-laid plan, you can look forward to a happy retirement instead of allowing it to surprise you in some good, and not-so-good, ways. By taking control of how you approach it, youll have a much better chance of creating your retirement instead of just allowing life to happen to you.
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Getting Older Be Sure To Take Your Rmd
RMD stands for required minimum distribution. When you reach a certain age, you are required to withdraw a minimum amount from your IRAs and 401ks or get a huge tax penalty.
Until recently, RMDs were required by everyone at age 70 ½. However, in late 2019 Congress passed the Secure Act that increases the age.
The Secure Act increases the age after which you must begin taking RMDs from 70 1/2 to 72 at least for anyone who turns 70 1/2 after 2019.
RMDs can be great retirement income, but often trigger higher taxes. Here are 6 strategies for managing these withdrawals to minimize taxes.
See How You Could Benefit From Expert Advice
We believe anyone can be a successful investor by following some basic principles.
But even if you’ve been investing solo for decades, think about whether you might benefit from advice as you begin planning for retirement. During this time, you’ll be making some very important decisions that could make or break your retirement timeline.
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Practice Retirement Spending Now
A common guideline youll hear is that retirees should be prepared to replace 80% of their income in retirement. Rules of thumb can be useful, but this one is fairly random. Its better to develop a plan around real spending needs.
Over the course of the next year, meticulously track your spending to provide yourself a realistic picture of your income requirements in the first year of retirement. Make adjustments as neededyou might not spend as much on commuting costs when you arent working perhaps youll spend more on travelbut youll find this to be a good guide to what life may cost during early retirement.
On this front, there is a silver lining to the Covid-19 crisis. One positive Ive seen from the pandemic is that discretionary spending has decreased because people are staying at home, and the savings rate is at an all-time high, says Henry. While this may help those behind on retirement savings catch up some, keep in mind that it may also mean spending during the coming year may not be a good metric for estimating future spending patterns.
Leave Behind More Wealth Than You Had When You First Retired
Retirement is not always about scrimping and saving. Many people are lucky enough to be able to increase their wealth throughout retirement. Bud Hebeler was one such guy.
Read his advice 8 tips for having more money at 80 than he did when he retired. Want to do it yourself? Here is general advice for becoming a millionaire AFTER retirement!
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Types Of Retirement Plans
There are many different types of retirement plans, so you have plenty of great options to achieve your retirement goals. Retirement plans are grouped like this: Employer-sponsored retirement plans, pension plans, ndividual retirement accounts , and self-employed retirement plans.
- Employer-sponsored retirement plans: These types of retirement plans are established by employers and often confer the benefit of employer-matched contributions. Each of these plan types are employer-sponsored:
- 401 plan: Retirement plan that allows tax-deductible contributions but treats withdrawals in retirement as ordinary income for tax purposes.
- 403 plan: Similar to a 401 plan but only offered by public education institutions, nonprofit organizations, and ministries.
- 457 plan: Also similar to a 401 but only available to state and local government employees and certain nonprofit employees.
- Thrift SavingsPlan: Similar to a 401 and only available to federal government employees and uniformed services personnel.
- Pension plans: Pensions are also known as defined benefit plans because, after you retire, they provide a predictable, defined amount of income every month for life. Companies that offer pension plans are becoming quite rare, although many public sector employers still offer them.
Make Your Travel Dreams A Reality
According to surveys of NewRetirement users, knowing how to have a happy retirement typically involves figuring out how to travel. Travel is clearly the most popular and desired pursuit for this phase of life. From day trips by car to round the world journeys, retirees have wanderlust!
Anything is possible with the right prioritization. If travel is what you have always dreamed of, here are 20 Great Retirement Travel Ideas.
Achieving what you want out of retirement can be a matter of setting a goal and then prioritizing that goal above everything else. Using a the Retirement Planner can help you visualize what you need to do to achieve whatever is important to you.
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Choose The Best Retirement Plan For You
A cornerstone of retirement planning is determining not only how much to save, but also where to save it.
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If you have a 401 or other employer retirement plan with matching dollars, consider starting there.
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If you dont have a workplace retirement plan, you can open your own retirement account.
There is no single best retirement plan, but there is likely a best retirement plan or combination of retirement accounts for you. In general, the best plans provide tax advantages, and, if available, an additional savings incentive, such as matching contributions. That’s why, in many cases, a 401 with an employer match is the best place to start for many people.
If you don’t have access to a workplace plan , or youre already contributing to a 401 and youre looking for the best options for additional retirement savings, you may want to consider an IRA. This is a plan you open yourself at an online broker or other account provider. An IRA is hardly a consolation prize.
Here are seven types of retirement plans that might work for you. Click the links to read more about how each one works.
» Go deeper: Read more about how to choose a retirement account
