Build It from the Ground Up

A Blueprint for Retirement

A comfortable and worry-free retirement is the goal of many Americans. However, the biggest obstacle in attaining that goal is that many people tend to procrastinate and avoid thinking ahead to formulate a plan of action. As a result, many are left scratching their heads, with little time on their side. How will they attain the funds needed to enjoy their retirement years?

It’s never too soon to begin giving thought to your retirement. Planning for retirement has become a more difficult task. Therefore, it’s important that you plan well in advance.

Invest for a Future Lifestyle

Although pre-retirement and post-retirement investment portfolios should each have both income and accumulation aspects, your pre-retirement portfolio should be more heavily weighted toward accumulation for later use.

Proceeds from pension plans and Social Security may account for as little as 35% of the typical retiree’s income. Another 25% may be derived from earned income—either full or part-time employment. In order to retire comfortably, the remaining amount needed would have to come from your personal retirement savings or investments.

The amount needed to fill this income “void” will depend on the amount of Social Security you will receive and what income you will have from other sources such as a company pension plan or your own Individual Retirement Account (IRA). That is why the steps you take today (investing, diversifying, increasing already existing investments, etc.) will be vital to help fill this gap and secure a comfortable retirement.

Steps to Take Now

Contribute the maximum amount to your IRA. The tax law changes give taxpayers more flexibility than ever, but also become more confusing. There are some enhancements to traditional IRAs and the “Roth” IRA provides tax-free growth and flexibility of withdrawals after five years. In addition, if your spouse is not working, you might consider getting a spousal IRA. However, it is essential that you consult with a qualified professional to determine which course of action best suits your needs (especially when comparing the benefits of the “traditional” IRA to the “Roth” IRA).
If you have an employer-sponsored 401(k) or 403(b) plan, you may wish to maximize your contributions there also. The same applies if you are self-employed and enrolled in a Keogh, SEP-IRA, or SIMPLE IRA.

Diversification, or spreading your investible assets among a group of different asset classes (stocks, bonds, and cash), is an investment strategy intended to help protect against a severe crisis every few years and avoidance of the old “feast or famine” characteristic of the investment markets. Diversification is used to create a portfolio by spreading your investible assets among various groups, including mutual funds, variable annuities, fixed-return accounts, and money market funds. Diversification does not eliminate risk, does not guarantee a profitable investment return, and does not guarantee against a loss. It is a method used to manage risk. Diversification offers returns that are not directly related over time and is intended for the structure of a whole portfolio to reduce the risk inherent in a particular security.

A post-retirement portfolio should show a greater allocation of investment resources toward income-producing vehicles, with a portion allocated for accumulation, in order to be able to create a greater income in the future; inflation will erode some of the purchasing power of current income-producing investments. Irrespective of your age, you can use different investment management techniques as you create your own portfolio and consider the different investment alternatives available to you.

If you are financially secure at retirement, it can become a time of new opportunities, a time to try a second career, to develop a new lifestyle, or to pursue new dreams and goals. Instead of a period of boredom, worry, and disenchantment, retirement can be your most stimulating, fulfilling time ever—truly your golden years. When the time finally comes and you’ve done the proper planning, the transition will be smooth, and you will feel comfortable and secure about it.

Take your first step towards a successful and stress-free retirement with your own Custom Retirement Paycheck Plan. We’ll show you in black and white a custom retirement income plan that is comprehensive, individualized and based on strategies that balance growth with downside protection.

We’ll review the details of your current situation, and provide you with a written plan that includes:

A Social Security Optimization Strategy,
A Risk and Fee Analysis of your current accounts,
A detailed Retirement Income Report that shows you which accounts your income will come from and how much they’ll provide over your lifetime,
We also identify any Tax Strategies that you should consider to keep more money in your pocket,
And considerations to address Health Care costs.

Don’t procrastinate your peace of mind…get your Custom Retirement Paycheck Plan now!

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Give us a call at our Charlotte office at (704) 248-8549, or our Clemmons office at (336) 391-3409. Or, click here to request a no-cost, no-obligation meeting.

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