Determine Your Working Plans
Decide how much you want to work in retirement and what that might look like. Nowadays, people are constantly redefining what retirement means. They are pursuing second-act careers, entrepreneurship, or heavy involvement with charities or social causes that matter to them. You might have plans of this sort in store. It’s good to revisit what those goals are, and what such goals your partner may have, so you have a vision of how you might spend your newly freed-up time. These goals can be small or large in scale, depending on what you enjoy. Say you have a hobby such as model trains. In that case, you might consider working part-time at a local hobby store. Even a part-time job can go towards covering monthly living expenses and allowing retirement savings dollars to stretch further. After all, that means that you may have to dip into your retirement accounts less for income (and deal with the effects of that, not to mention the tax bill).
5. See if You Have Any Income Gaps
A rock-solid retirement income plan will go further than just estimates for monthly income needs. It will also account for the broader picture of how much money you might need for the “nice-to-haves” or “nice-to-do” activities in retirement that you have long waited for. What might those be? Traveling to foreign countries. Making a cross-country tour in an RV. Buying a nice boat and enjoying water activities. The opportunities are truly endless.
As a financial lifestyle professional, we can help you figure these expenses into your overall retirement budget and plan. Then it’s a matter of matching all of your estimated expenses with the income streams you expect to be receiving in retirement. Calculate the amount of money that you will need to spend in retirement each year, looking for any gaps between what you might spend and how much income you are bringing in.
In most cases, you will be wise to seek professional help with this step. We can analyze your projected spending numbers. We can even run reports that can break down how far your retirement income will go towards your projected expenses. Your income planning can also help you to determine when to start taking Social Security and how much longer you might need to work in order to retire comfortably.