What is a sensible age to begin planning your retirement? That depends on several factors. When you retire, it's not going to be like it might have been for you parents. Guaranteed lifelong healthcare, locked-in pension payments and proverbial gold watches may certainly not apply. Instead of relying on provisions that are granted from past employers, you're going to have to plan and develop your own retirements funds and benefits. At least this is the case for most; those who are not politicians or well-paid CEO’s
What is the best age to start planning retirement?
The answer is painfully simple in this current economic climate: right now. The basic fact is that the earlier you start, the better financial shape you're going to be in. If you're currently 40 and wish to retire at age 62, then you have 22 years to accumulate assets including:
- Savings
- IRA
- Stocks & Bonds
- Life Insurance
- Annuities and more…
For a surprising number of people, they find themselves beginning to think about retirement too late. Then they feel that they are doomed to an impoverished life after reaching the point where full-time employment will not be physically possible any longer. And that time is coming for all of us who live to be “elderly”. So, the time to act is right now! This, however, doesn't mean that if you are later in your life it is too late to begin your financial planning for retirement. Regardless of age, there are still various options for everyone to get the most out of retirement.
How to plan for your retirement, beginning today:
Regardless of your age or financial position in life currently, you will do best to begin taking steps to plan and develop your retirement assets today. It's going to be a years-long, maybe decades-long process. So don't feel overly anxious. Here are some points to start thinking about:
- What does “retirement” mean to you? Is it living large, traveling the world and gaining culture? Or is more like maintaining your existing lifestyle and living on a budget? In either case, or any other case, the bottom line is that you need to define what your retirement will be before you can develop it. So, begin by setting some relatively firm financial goals in that regard.
- Determine how long you are likely to live after reaching retirement age. It you develop a given amount of retirement assets, then you need to understand how long they are supposed to be able to be drawn out for. Of course this will be an estimate. You could pass on early and have assets remaining. Or you could live to be a 120 and encounter some serious shortages. Either way, you need a plan.
The other details associated with planning and developing your retirement will evolve over the years. All through your working life, you will need to evaluate and reevaluate your retirement planning. Life happens. Goals sometimes do not get met, and other times get exceeded. Let life happen and roll with it easily. Just keep your retirement goals in mind and allow yourself the opportunities to periodically restrategize. The most sensible age to begin planning retirement is the age that you are right now.
