What Should I Be Doing 10 Years Before Retirement?
“Here are five things you should be doing for success, as you enter the retirement red zone.”
Investopedia’s recent article, “5 Things to Do 10 Years from Retirement,” explains that there’s a red zone both in football and retirement planning. In many instances, that zone is where the game is won or lost. In football, the red zone is 20 yards from the goal line. For retirement, it’s 10 years from your target retirement date. As you move towards your goal, you may need to “huddle up” and look at your game plan.
- Figure Out What Retirement Means to You. Before you start making financial plans, be clear on what retirement means to you. It may mean working 40 hours instead of 60 or never working another day for the rest of your life. Whatever you like, it’s important to have some idea of what you want to do every day. From there, you can start to shape a financial plan to support your retirement vision.
- Determine How Much Money You’ll Spend Every Month. Once you’ve defined what your retirement will look like, you can begin planning for it financially. First, determine how much you’ll be spending every month on your retirement budget. Many pre-retirees just don’t know how much they need to live on a monthly basis. An accurate retirement plan will be based on your monthly household expenses.
- Examine Your Sources of Income in Retirement. While looking at your spending, be aware of all the types of income you’ll have during retirement, such as Social Security, a pension, a 401(k) or an IRA. There are choices that will have to be made, if you have a pension. The timing for collecting Social Security payments is also important.
- Rework Your Investment Strategy. The way you’ve been investing for the past 30 years, is not how you should invest for the next 30. Younger people focus on accumulation, but when you’re in or nearing retirement, you need to concentrate on income and keeping pace with inflation. Diversification is important, but what’s more powerful than diversification is asset allocation.
- Consider Hiring a Financial Professional. You can do-it-yourself, since there are many inexpensive funds and research information available. However, there’s much more that goes into creating a comprehensive retirement plan than just investments. Your retirement plan should address your need for income, estate planning, survivorship planning, insurance needs, business continuation, inflation, and other points.
As in football, the team that wins the game, is often the team who played well in the red zone. Don’t fumble the ball at the goal line or settle for a field goal. Score a touchdown with smart retirement planning.
Reference: Investopedia (September 7, 2018) “5 Things to Do 10 Years from Retirement”
