Successful Retirement Plan

When it comes to choosing a career, some key factors should be considered. Income is one of the main factors that should be considered. Certainly, individuals need to have jobs that can provide them with a standard of living that they feel they should enjoy, with enough to cover things like pensions and savings for when they retire (Elkins, 2018). The recommended level is 5–8% of gross salary. Personality factors are also important. Abilities, inclinations, talent are personality factors that matter when choosing a career. People also need inspiration, passion, dreams. The last factor is time. A good career has desired schedule which incorporates hours per week, or shifts that provide individuals enough time to rest and spend time with their families.

Retirement is the period after a person’s last day of their working life. So around age 62- 65, most people choose to stop working while others choose to continue. The most appealing aspects of retirement are the chance to finally travel and do hobbies an individual did not have time for (Stoller, 2019). It is a sort of freedom from the daily grind of the working world.

I would like to stretch my retirement age to 65. The main reason is that I will get social security benefits completely. If I retire before, these benefits will not be available completely. I will not be eligible for medical benefits if I retire before 65. 65 is young enough to enjoy retirement still and allow me to have enough time to build up the things I need for income after retiring.

According to the retirement calculator, if I make $20/hr now and save $4000/yr, then with a few reasonable assumptions (3% increase in pay per year, 8% returns on my investments), I will be a millionaire at age 53. Thanks to inflation (assuming 2%) that would not be enough to retire, but I will be there in my early 60s, with $2.5M giving me what I need to live like I am still earning $150/yr. That is a decent plan

My biggest concerns about retirement and longevity are inflation and health. Inflation is likely to outpace my pension. For this reason, I find owning one’s property, and the house paid off is the best thing in life. Another concern is health care costs. With politicians threatening to curtail Medicare, cripple the ACA, and ever-rising insurance premiums, the cost of health care is a concern (Elkins, 2018). That is a new burden, and may not always be bearable. Furthermore, I foresee some challenges during my retirement. Keeping track of medicine is likely to be challenging and confusing Medicine. Also when my friends die it will be hard to replace them and the world will get smaller

There are some few steps that I need to take to ensure I have adequate income saved for retirement. First, I have to begin by primarily targeting mutual funds and Fixed Deposits (FDs). Whenever I have a lump sum in hand, I should invest in a good FD scheme. I will look for a good scheme to put my money in and invest it for the longest tenure. I will also reinvest the amount at maturity and opt for the monthly interest payout option to receive the interest income more frequently. Alternatively, I can opt for the quarterly or annual payout options as well. Every month, I will invest a portion of my salary in mutual funds through a SIP. I will either do so on my own or through an Asset Management Company (AMC).

My post-retirement should not be about doing “nothing” but looking for ways to stay active and even more productive to maintain my identity apart from my career. Since I enjoy my current work, I will continue to do it. But perhaps I will make my schedule more flexible, donate more of the money I earn, or start a business doing and help employ other people. I also plan to spend time with family, share my experiences with them to enhance the relationships. My health is the most important part. According to research, people getting up in years and planning for retirement should start taking care of themselves and realize that without health retirement is difficult (Updegrave, 2019). As a result, I will start reducing my stress levels about five years or six years before I retired. Lowering stress, working out, losing weight and feeling much better will be of a great deal.

References

Elkins, K. (2018). Here’s how much families have in retirement savings—and how much they need. Retrieved 18 December 2019, from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/23/how-much-us-families-have-in-retirement-savings-and-how-much-they-need.html

Stoller, K. (2019). Retrieved 18 December 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/how-much-should-you-have-saved-by-age/

Updegrave, W. (2019). Do you have enough retirement savings for your age?. Retrieved 18 December 2019, from https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/01/retirement/retirement-age/index.html