Risk & Business Magazine Marcotte The Magazine - Winter 2018 | Page 30

RETIREMENT
Rehearsing For
Retirement
T
ry living as a “retiree” for a month
or two before you commit to
leaving your career.
IMAGINE IF YOU
COULD PREVIEW YOUR
RETIREMENT IN ADVANCE.
In a sense, you can. Financially and
mentally, you can “rehearse” for the third
act of your life, while still enjoying the
second.
PRETEND YOU ARE RETIRED FOR A
MONTH OR TWO.
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Take two steps to act out your rehearsal—
one having to do with your budget, the
other with your expectations.
DRAW UP A RETIREMENT BUDGET
AND LIVE ON IT FOR ONE, TWO, OR
THREE MONTHS.
Make a list of essential expenses (groceries,
gas, utilities, mortgage, medicines), and
then a list of discretionary expenses
(such as movie tickets, dinners out, spa
treatments). This may reveal that you can
live handily on less than what you currently
spend each month.
Next, list your income sources for
retirement. They might include Social
Security benefits (depending on when
you want to claim them), IRA Required
Minimum Distributions, pension checks,
dividends, freelance or consulting
payments, or other revenue streams.
Investment income is also in the mix here,
so check with a financial professional to
determine a withdrawal rate from those
accounts that you can safely maintain
through your retirement. (It might differ
slightly from the long-recommended four
percent.) When you have your list, stack