Retirement planning isn’t an “old people” thing. It’s a smart people thing. And it’s never too early to start planning for your retirement future. So let’s get started!
Retirement planning is a multistage process that evolves over time. To have a comfortable, secure, and enjoyable retirement, you need to build the financial support that will fund it all. Let’s begin with the basics…
What is Retirement Planning?
In a nutshell, retirement planning is the process of determining retirement income goals and the actions and decisions necessary to achieve these goals. Retirement planning includes identifying sources of income, estimating expenses, implementing a savings program, and managing assets and risk.
Benefits of a solid retirement plan range from both financial to personal and psychological. A few key advantages include:
- Peace of mind: Not planning can leave you uncertain with regards to your income after retirement thus creating stress. Planning ahead will reduce uncertainty for you and will help you be mentally free for your later years.
- Benefits of compounding interest: The earlier you begin planning and saving for retirement, the more you can take advantage of compounding interest. (See more below.)
- Tax benefits: There are several tax benefits of retirement planning, including reducing the amount of income taxes you will pay during retirement and ensuring that beneficiaries to retirement and other account types pay as little tax as possible.
Who is Retirement Planning For?
Putting money away for retirement is a habit we can, and should all live with. Ideally, you’d start saving in your 20s, when you first leave school and begin earning paychecks. That’s because the sooner you begin saving, the more time your money has to grow. Each year’s gains can generate their own gains the next year – the powerful wealth-building phenomenon known as compounding.
Depending on your age and financial circumstances, look for a retirement portfolio that is best suited to your individual requirements. While the retirement portfolios at CKS Summit Group are highly customizable and can serve a broad range of ages and needs, our services are ideally suited for clients in the 55-75 age range with portfolios of $250,000 or greater.
Our SMART Portfolio is ideally suited for clients ages 35 plus. We are also able to serve clients across the U.S. Check out our full range of portfolios here.
When Can I Retire?
There are a lot of layers to this question and requires comparing expected future expenses with expected future income. When you’re young, you pretty much have to guess. When you’re within 10 years of retirement, though, you should have a much better idea of what those numbers will be.
In terms of Social Security, the earliest you can start claiming benefits is age 62. However, by filing early you’ll sacrifice a portion of your benefits. If you were born in 1960 or later, full retirement age (which is also full Social Security benefits age) is 67. And your benefit will actually increase if you can delay it further, up until age 70.
Social Security rules aside, the average reported retirement age is 61, according to Gallup data. Of course, there are people who retire earlier than that (because they want or have to), and many who retire later (again, because they want or have to). Many people find it’s best to slowly ease out of the workforce rather than retire abruptly. Check out our blog, ‘Is Your Planned Retirement Age Realistic?’ here for a more in-depth review on the topic.
What’s Next?
The hardest thing about saving for retirement is probably just getting started. Most people don’t have a financial background. So it’s hard to think about things like IRAs or investment portfolios. It is also intimidating to think that you need to save hundreds of thousands of dollars for retirement – especially if you’re just getting started. But saving for retirement isn’t as daunting as it seems.
The easy answer is a financial advisor, but there are all kinds of advisors out there. If you’re looking for help building a retirement nest egg, you probably want someone who specializes in retirement income financial planning, like CKS Summit Group.
Who We Are
CKS designs custom portfolios to protect during uncertainty and perform during prosperity.
Our focus is to bring you fresh new ideas for your retirement income. Our cutting edge tactical portfolios help our clients achieve safe, healthy growth of their savings and preservation of their principal balance.
We design plans which are specifically structured to limit downside stock market risk. This allows us to protect our client’s assets while providing them with strategies for achieving effective tax reduction and inflation protection.
Working with us is easy:
- Step 1: Schedule your complimentary strategy session with us online or by calling 586-286-5820.
- Step 2: Customize your portfolio.
- Step 3: Let CKS work for you.
In today′s world, the importance of a well-executed retirement plan cannot be underestimated. We look forward to helping you build a more secure financial future and help you reach your retirement goals.
