Worried about Retirement?

It’s OK to admit you’re worried about Retirement.

You’ve done everything right. You’ve been working for decades and your kids are grown and mostly self-sufficient. You’ve been contributing to your 401(k), paying off credit cards every month, and dreaming of the day you can afford to retire. In spite of your solid financial foundation, you lay awake at night thinking about rising health care costs, the volatile stock market, higher interest rates pushing bond values down, and tax rates that will surely move up. Admit it – you’re worried!

So, what can you do? Of course you need to periodically update your financial projections with ongoing financial planning. It’s also imperative to invest smartly. A Registered Investment Adviser (like Rowling & Associates!) can provide diversified, tax-efficient investment management considering your level of risk tolerance and long-term goals. You might also feel more confident about retirement by paying attention to a few simple concepts:

Understand the basic math.

If you retire early, you have less working years for saving and more retirement years to pay for. It’s a double whammy! Working just one extra year gives you an extra year of savings and one less year of retirement spending.

Retirement doesn’t mean you will never earn money again.

Retirement just isn’t the same as it used to be. We don’t want years and years of eating bon-bons while watching soap operas on TV. We’ve honed skills and developed interests. We’re living longer and healthier. Thus, many retirees will take on a “lifestyle career.” This can be a paying job, such as teaching or working at a golf course, or occasional self employment, such as consulting or writing.

Home equity counts.

The equity you’ve built up in your home is actually another asset available to you in retirement. Whether you refinance your home over 30 years, downsize or take out a reverse mortgage, your home can be utilized to help fund your retirement needs.

Retirement doesn’t depend on reaching a certain number. It does, however, take careful and regular planning. Please let us know if you’d like to talk to us and learn how we can help you reach your retirement goals – whatever they may be.