5 Retirement Questions to Ask Before 'How Much Should I Save?'
Article by Charles Schwab Group
(BPT) - How do I plan for a comfortable retirement? This question is top of mind for many Americans. Yet how to afford that dream retirement remains a mystery to most. According to The Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2019 Retirement Confidence Survey, only 42% of working-age people have tried to calculate just how much they need to save to live comfortably in retirement.
But "how much money you need to retire" is not the only question you should be asking - and not even the initial one. There are a few key questions you should consider first to help determine what "retirement" means to you, which will help paint a clearer picture of that magic savings number. Before you pull out your calculator, consider these questions:
* Have you considered a "second act" career in retirement? According to a recent Charles Schwab survey, more than 40% of people within five years of retirement said they want to continue working in retirement. Whether you're scaling back hours at your current job, planning to embark on a new career, or pursuing a passion project, this has some palpable advantages when it comes to retirement planning. Along with the benefits of staying active, by continuing to earn a paycheck, you mitigate the need to deplete existing savings.
* Would you rather take "mini-retirements" and postpone long-term retirement? While most people still envision retirement as a point later in life when they stop working altogether, the idea of taking