Two of the biggest concerns most people have after retiring are not having enough money and not having good health.
These are really valid concerns considering that you’ve invested a lifetime in work and when you retire, either one will make it difficult or impossible for you to enjoy all you’ve worked for.
Do I have enough money to retire?
If you’re like about 75% of all baby boomers, you probably won’t have a pension that amounts to anything when you retire (unless you work for some level of government) and you’ll have to pay for retirement on your own. Social Security may contribute some to your retirement but it won’t be nearly enough on its on to allow you to enjoy a reasonable good retirement.
You may have some difficult decisions to make about retiring.
How much you enjoy your retirement depends on how you plan for it. Most people intend to save money for retirement but many just won’t get around to it. Many won’t realize how ill-prepared they are until it’s too late to make any significant changes to improve their retirement situation.
You’re going to have to ask yourself if you’ve saved enough, and can you spend it efficiently enough to avoid outliving your money. Can you afford your current lifestyle? These are the questions I asked. The answers weren’t always comforting.
If you look at it realistically, almost every concern a retiree has is related to having enough money. While maintaining health is a concern, paying for health care has been listed as the top worry for many seniors for a very long time. and, there’s good reason for anxiety.
I read somewhere that research estimates the out of pocket healthcare costs for a 65 year old will range from around $200,000 to $300,000. This may be a lifetime estimate, but the amount exceeds the total savings of most retirees. If that’s the case, most won’t have enough money to pay for healthcare.
The good news is that there may be some things you can do to improve your financial situation before you retire.
How to prepare for retirement
Many seniors find that reducing debt, cutting expenses, working longer and down-sizing can increase their available retirement cash. If you have enough equity in your home, securing a reverse mortgage may dramatically improve their finances.
Reducing debt and cutting expenses are about the only ways that work for the long haul but continuing to work might be the only real option many senior have.
When we retired, several of the methods mentioned were used to improve our financial situation. We eliminated our debt (except for housing), down sized and cut expenses until we got comfortable with our situation without changing our lifestyle a great deal.
Think about it a while and see what options you can come up to reduce the anxiety of retirement. Working longer or finding ways to increase your retirement income has become a necessity for a lot of people. But that’s a subject for another post.
Two things you need when preparing for retirement is good information and sound advice. There’s tons of both available, but you have to dig through a lot of it to find information that applies your situation and that you can use. The real key is to think about your situation and try not to stress out about it.
There are literally thousands of books on retirement, most of them have some good information and tips. Check out the FREE e-book “Easy Retirement Planning” on the sidebar.
Another good place to start is with some of the free e-books and information listed on this page.
Other great resources are free from the Department of Labor. Check out these free publications:
Preparing for Retirement (DOL)
Taking the Mystery out of Retirement Planning
Top 10 Ways To Prepare For Retirement
What You Should Know About Your Retirement Plan
Savings Fitness, A Guide to Your Money and Financial Future