What Should I Do For Retirement

Have Lunch In Your Favorite Restaurant With Your Spouse

Celebrate your new life by going to your favorite restaurant and have a gourmet lunch together with your spouse. Perhaps, youre the only one retiring, or he or she is already retired, and now you both can enjoy it. And then its also a great time not only to celebrate it, but also positively talk about what youre going to do in the next few days, weeks, and months. It will be an adjustment for both of you, so good communication is critical not to get frustrated with each other. And to manage each others expectations.

Many couples ask themselves if they should retire at the same time. Its a difficult question to answer, and for everyone, its different. I explain more about the thing you need to consider when answering this question, in my article, Should Couples Retire At The Same Time?

Identify How Much Savings You Need

You might tell yourself you don’t need a million dollars or that you just want a simple life. But even a simple life can require $1 million in the bank after you quit working. Most experts agree that you should withdraw no more than 3% to 4% of your retirement portfolio each year during your retirement. If you do the math, 3% of $1 million is $30,000, and 4% is $40,000.

In other words, if you want to live on an income of $30,000 to $40,000 per year in retirement, you’ll need a portfolio of at least $1 million. That assumes you won’t have a pension, rental properties, or other sources of retirement income. It also excludes Social Security income.

Saving For Retirement In Your 40s

A lot can happen in your 40s. You may be itching for a career change, or might find yourself settling into a more senior role with a higher salary. Either way, your 40s are a time to keep your debt to a minimum and your savings at a maximum. If a career shift or new business venture is in your plans, cash savings outside of your retirement accounts can fund your dreamskeep your retirement money hard at work.

Emergency fund: Do a check-in and make sure that you still have at least six months of living expenses saved, especially if youve bought a house or started a family.

Additional savings: Keep using a taxable brokerage account to invest additional savings.

Educational savings: Keep contributing to your educational savings plans for your kids.

Retirement savings: Review your contribution percentage annually, especially if your compensation has significantly increased. By the time you turn 50, aim to have six times your current annual salary in retirement savings.

Catch-up tips: If youre feeling behind in your savings, review your expenses and see where you can cut back. Each month, save any extra money in your IRA or emergency fund to further protect your retirement savings. You could also consider a side hustle to bring in some extra cash to boost your savings.

Read Also: Compare Types Of Retirement Accounts Worksheet Answers Ngpf

Additional Thoughts On Retirement Helps

Sort out your end of life plans:

Live before you die, so that death is also a lively celebration. B.K.S. Iyengar.

Iyengars words highlight what we all should ideally do. But, most of us do not live fully. So, ask yourself, do I live fully?

You may be an exception, but the truth is that most of us dont take the time to craft a life we just muddle through. We spend most of our time working and have very little time doing things that make us feel alive.

If you really want to live before you die, dont forget to sort out your end-of-life plans before you retire.

Once you retire, you can do many things you wanted to do when you were young, but never got the chance to because of work or other engagements.

You wont want to spend even a minute of your days after retirement on making plans and figuring out ways to make them work.

Start now and create your bucket list On your list, put in items, destinations, and wishes youve held close to your heart all these years.

Begin to generate a rough idea of how youll do these things. For example, if you want to travel to a foreign country, create a plan regarding the places you would love to visit, people you would love to take along, how long you would like to stay there, and so on.

How Much Do I Need To Retire

How much you need to retire depends on how much you plan to spend in retirement. How much will you want to shell out on travel? What about saving for medical expenses? These considerations and more make planning your retirement paycheck difficult for many people, especially when theyre decades from retirement.

Don’t Miss: The Residence Retirement Center Lakeland Fl

Things To Do In Retirement 25 Ideas To Inspire You

The thought of not having to go to work anymore might be tempting but as anyone whos come through lockdown will know, freedom can be a double-edged sword. Boredom can often follow close behind, so you should aim to see retirement not as the end of something, but as the start of something new. The question is, what? Thats what this article is here to help you find out.

Tip number one is to take a proactive approach to retirement. Act the age you feel, not the age the world might expect you to be. Make new experiences part of your retirement planning, and youll stay younger for longer.

The Age UK Index of Wellbeing in Later Life concluded that engaging with the world around us through social, creative, physical or community activities can contribute more than 20% to our wellbeing in later life. Whats more, choosing the right goals and activities helps people of all ages to make more friends, provide structure and routine, and bring a sense of achievement. Here are 25 ideas to get you started as you begin the next fulfilling chapter of your life.

What Matters Most Is Being Prepared Financially

When is the right time to retire? Its a question that depends on your personal needs and circumstancesnot to mention your plans for what you’ll do instead. We’ve all had days when we’re prepared to hand our boss a resignation letter and lead the good life of a retiree. Though leaving the workforce early might sound like paradise, it can be a big mistake if you’re not financially ready to live without a paycheck. Here are some of the pros and cons of quitting your job at different ages.

Read Also: Indiana Public Employees Retirement Fund

Is It Wise To Stay Invested

The run-up to retirement is not usually the time to increase your exposure to the stock market. However, given that your pension may need to last for several decades in retirement, taking no investment risk is unlikely to be wise.

Interest rates remain low, which means leaving excess money in a savings account could make it difficult to keep up with rising prices and increase the risk of you running out of money.

On the flipside, saving 12 to 24 months worth of essential expenditure in an easy-access savings account would provide a source from which to draw retirement income when stock markets are falling.

In uncertain times, your best course of action is to maintain a diversified portfolio that invests your money across a range of asset classes according to your needs and risk profile. A financial adviser can help you decide on the right types of investments for you and build a portfolio that is robust enough to deliver long-term performance.

Evaluate Your Health Before Retirement

Photo via

Before you leave your current job, take advantage of your employee healthcare plan. Make sure youre up-to-date on annual checkups, prescriptions, hearing aids, dental care, and vision. Once youre retired, see your doctor annually . Maintaining your physical health in retirement is crucial to a good quality of life and can help keep healthcare costs down, so be sure to ask your physician for recommendations on post-retirement health, fitness, and nutrition.

Also Check: Springs Of Napa Retirement Residence

Avoid Aimless Scrolls Through The Internet

You also want to avoid aimless scrolling over the internet in the first week of retirement. And even during the rest of your retirement. You want to nip this in the bud as well before it becomes a habit in retirement. And what better to start good habits and routines than in the first week of retirement.

When you go on other peoples social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, that doesnt make you feel better or good about yourself. Social Media is a wrong reflection of the reality of life. Everything seems perfect on social media, and comparing your life with theirs is a very easy route to take and a very unhealthy route many people take. It takes a strong mind not to compare yourself to others, and that feeling of unworthiness can sneak up on you very quickly this way.

If youre planning a trip or a vacation, then scrolling the internet to look for tickets, ideas and inspiration is a very meaningful way to spend time on the internet. So you dont want to avoid that you want to avoid using your well-earned free hours filling up with aimless activities.

Read more:How To Retire And Travel Cheaply: 20 Helpful Tips

See The World Or Your Corner Of It

Travel ranks near the top of a lot of what to do in retirement wish lists. Some retirees have a certain city theyve always wanted to visit. And for others, a more consistent schedule of travel is a lot more exciting.

You dont have to cross an ocean to have a great travel experience. You could travel through North America and never see it all. Even travel within your own state could yield experiences that you didnt know were there.

The life of a traveler is varied. Some people buy an RV, and some love to take a train. Of course flying will take you practically everywhere. As for lodging, retirees can get creative. Book hotels, if thats your thing. Or check out Airbnb, a service that connects travelers with private B & B experiences in the U.S. and around the world.

You might even consider becoming an Airbnb host and rent out your home while you travel the world letting your home pay for your adventures.

Here are 20 Ideas to Make Great Retirement Travel Your Reality

You May Like: Retirement Homes In Redmond Wa

Keep Up With Technology

The millennial generation is the first to grow up in a world where the internet has always been around to some degree. Older generations had a lot of life experience without it, or any of the usual gadgets. And sometimes technology is quite confusing.

Keeping up with technology throughout retirement gives you a lot of freedom, and it also helps you enjoy more of the benefits of living in a rapidly advancing era. So be afraid of it. Embrace technology, and keep on learning.

What To Do In Retirement Get In The Best Shape Of Your Life

As the saying goes, if youve got your health youre already rich. Fitness is another lifelong pursuit, and this one can make retirement life better in almost every way. Youll have more energy, a healthier body and a happier mindset, too.

Fitness offers so much variety that you never need to grow bored with it. There are classes for yoga, Pilates, spinning and more. The Centers for Disease Control also says that weight training relieves arthritis, improves balance, increases bone density, manages weight and diabetes, strengthens the heart, and makes sleep better and more restful.

Read Also: Retirement Communities In Annapolis Maryland

Write Even If Youre The Only One Who Reads Your Work

Finally, there is time to write that book you always wanted to, or to set up and manage a blog, write articles to be published in magazines or elsewhere, poems or your memoirs.

If writing a book sounds a step too far, why not start a gratitude journal! It is a great way to stay mindful and in the moment. It is the place where you can write down your reflections about whats positive in your life and what you are grateful for every day.

Retirement Plans For Self

If youre self-employed or own a small business, you have some further options for creating your own retirement plan. Three of the most popular options are a solo 401, a SIMPLE IRA and a SEP IRA, and these offer a number of benefits to participants:

• Higher contribution limits: Plans such as the solo 401 and SEP IRA give participants much higher contribution limits than a typical 401 plan.
• The ability to profit share: These plans may allow you to contribute to the employee limit and then add in an extra helping of profits as an employer contribution.
• Less regulation: These retirement plans typically reduce the amount of regulation required versus a standard plan, meaning its easier to administer them.
• Investible in higher-return assets: These plans can be invested in higher-return assets such as stocks or stock funds.
• Varied investment options: Unlike a typical company-administered retirement plan, these plans may allow you to invest in a wider array of assets.

So those are some of the key benefits of retirement plans for the self-employed or small business owners.

You May Like: How Much Does It Cost To Live In Retirement Home

Create A Retirement Bucket List

Now youre retired, its time for the things youve always wanted to do. And the first day can be an excellent occasion to create a bucket list or add new ideas to an already existing bucket list.

When someone asks me how they can prepare for retirement, I always recommend that they have something to retire to. Retirement is about enjoying your free time in the best way possible. And if you have an idea about the things you want to do, it is easier to plan your activities.

If you find it challenging to come up with new activities, creating a bucket list can also help. Dont be too hard on yourself. Just take some time and write down the things you want to do. You might ask yourself, what do I regret NOT doing in retirement, to come up with new ideas.

When youre married or living together with someone, talk about your bucket list ideas together. Maybe you can come up with even more ideas and things you can do together! If you need some inspiration, you must read my article, 101 Ideas for your retirement bucket list.

How Much Does A Married Couple Need To Retire At 55

Experts say to have at least seven times your salary saved at age 55. That means if you make $55,000 a year, you should have at least $385,000 saved for retirement. Keep in mind that life is unpredictableeconomic factors, medical care, and how long you live will also impact your retirement expenses.

Recommended Reading: Arkansas Teacher Retirement Phone Number

How We Make Money

The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.

Stay Fit And Flexible

The best way to keep going is to keep going start a hobby that gets you gently moving such as yoga, golf, darts, bowling, pool, walking football, croquet, Tai Chi, archery or Pilates which aims to strengthen the body in an even way, with particular emphasis on core strength to improve general fitness and wellbeing. It doesnt have to be sedate, either there are plenty of senior karate students, judokas and fencers.

Read Also: Retirement Programs For Small Businesses

Here Are Some Things You Should Factor Into Your Calculations:

Housing costs, including rent or a mortgage, heating, water and maintenance

Health-care costs

Day-to-day living, such as food, clothing, transportation

Entertainment, including restaurants, movies, plays

Travel, including flights, hotels, gas if driving

Possible life insurance

What’s the magic number to hit for a golden retirement?

Over the years, finance experts have said that people need to save $1 million that’s recently climbed to $2 million as the cost of living and age demographics have changed. Some advise that you need to save 80% to 90% of your annual pre-retirement income, or that you need to save 12 times your pre-retirement salary. Those numbers and formulas can be a guide, but they’re not gospel everyone’s situation will be different.

Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Get out and do something that you have never done before. It doesnt have to be something big, nor does it have to be expensive. Go to that new trendy coffee shop, drive to the next town and stroll in a new park, read a racy novel, anything that makes you feel alive and brings you the experience of new things.

Master a foreign language online with a website like Duolingo, for example. Or why not up your computer skills or other skills you have always wanted to learn.

Recommended Reading: Retirement Communities In Fort Wayne Indiana