TIPS FOR GETTING READY FOR RETIREMENT

Retirement is a pivotal time in people’s lives. While it can often be a joyous time, it can also be filled with stress or uncertainty. But if you plan ahead, you can find that your golden years will hold more positives than negatives. So what can you do to live your best life after you retire? Take a look at some tips as you get ready for retirement:

Plan How You Would Like to Spend Your Retirement

Write down a few goals that describe how you want to spend your retirement. For example, you may decide to volunteer at a local organization, or travel and visiting family may be more your bag. Start a notebook outlining how you’d like to spend your retirement and what you envision for your life. You may not have your retirement fully planned yet, but the more descriptive you are the more equipped you will be to follow through on your intentions.

Keep Track of Your Assets

You likely know your monthly income and how much you have in your bank account. But how will that change when you retire and you begin collecting social security benefits? And what about your intangible assets such as your ability to craft or bake? These talents can become a lucrative hobby that can be fulfilling on a monetary and emotional level after you retire.

Take Charge of Your Health

Our health is important, especially as we age! Take a preventative approach to your health by scheduling regular checkups and screenings. Eat healthy, exercise, and get enough sleep to improve wellness and keep health procedures to a minimum.

Create a Budget

If you don’t already have one, create a budget by determining your anticipated income and expenses. Most retirees need about 80% of their working income in retirement to maintain their standard of living. Social security only replaces about 40% of those earnings, so you must drum up other income sources. Consider if you would want to work part-time, or downsize to a smaller home to cut down expenses.

Determine When to Start Social Security

Think about when you want to start social security to find an option that works best for your financial situation. You won’t qualify for 100% of your social security earnings until you reach the current retirement age of 66 or 67 depending on your date of birth. If you claim earlier, you will only get 70%-99% of the benefit amount. If you wait to collect until you reach the age of 70, your benefit will increase monthly. Therefore, holding off on collecting social security may benefit you in the long run.

Network Through Social Media

Social media is a great way to stay connected to the world as you get older. You can use it for connecting with friends and family, but it’s also a good way to promote your skills and interests. It can be a good way to turn your hobby into a source of income, or it can help you get in touch with people in your community or volunteer organizations.

Plan for the Unexpected

Unexpected circumstances, like medical bills, home repairs, inflation, or even another pandemic can hit your wallet hard. Be prepared in advance by building up an emergency savings fund, or get insurance so you are covered in difficult situations.

Choosing when to retire is an important life step, but it doesn’t need to be stressful. If you take the time to plan ahead, you will be able to make a seamless transition and enjoy your retirement to the fullest!