A recent survey found that 85% of Americans said their personal finances were causing them stress. One of the most common concerns was having enough saved for retirement. There’s no better time than now to review your current situation and get your finances on track.
#1 Establish a List of Goals
As the year goes by, significant events can impact your outlook on life and retirement. Unfortunately, these events sometimes force you to lose sight of your retirement goals. Try revising your list from last year and when adding in new goals, separate them by short (1-2 years), mid (2-5 years), and long-term (5+ years). While “having a comfortable retirement” is a good long-term goal to have, you should try to create short and mid-term objectives that are more tangible and attainable to help you stay on track and achieve your overall goal.
#2 Factor in Taxes
While some people think their tax bill will decrease substantially in retirement, this isn’t necessarily the case. Many of your sources of income in retirement could be taxable, including Social Security benefits, pension payments, and investment income. If you have a substantial amount saved in a tax-deferred retirement account, you’ll need to think long-term about taxes. And with mounting national debt and the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2025, we could see tax rates increase.
#3 Make an Appointment with a Trusted Financial Professional
Writing down your goals is a good place to start, but sometimes you need that extra guidance. We start all of our relationships with a complimentary, no-obligation in-person financial review. We start with this process because we still believe in the power of sitting face-to-face when discussing something as important as your life savings.
We want to know the person behind the numbers and understand what’s important to them. Once we know that information, we can start designing a personalized plan to help them achieve their goals. Our mission is to help you achieve your retirement goals without taking on any unnecessary risk. Request your complimentary, no-obligation review with us.
