Would you like to know how long are you going to live? Does it matter how long are you going to live? Answer in both cases should be YES.
The average life expectancy in USA is 75.6 years for men and 80.8 for women! But you can calculate your own life expectancy by going to one of the many websites: the simplest is http://gosset.wharton.upenn.edu/mortality/form.html.
Now that you know your lifespan, so what? Well, that means you know how long is the journey and so you will carry with you enough (money, food etc) to last your journey.
Don't underestimate your longevity
More than half of the retirees and preretirees underestimate how long a person of their age is going to live, according to recent report from the Society of Actuaries. About 4 in 10 underestimate their life expectancy by five or more years. Life span is increasing and misjudging your life span can throw off your estimate of how much money you will need to last throughout your life. The Social Security administration estimates those born in 1950 and retiring at 65, men have 20% chance of reaching age of 90 and women have 32 percent chance. With the scare of Social Security benefits running out, we should be prepared even more! A survey has found that 66% of the retirees and workers had less than $50,000 in savings and 30 percent had less than $1,000 saved.
You can boost your odds of successful retirement by following these basic guidelines:
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- Set up multiple types of accounts
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Fully fund your 401(K) (Tax deferred)
Fund Roth and traditional IRA (Tax deferred)
Save in taxable account as well |
- Maximize Social Security Benefits
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Waiting as long as possible to collect SS benefit might be the best strategy. |
- Reduce debts before retirement
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Ideally you should be debt free as you enter retirement. |
- Consider health care costs
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If you retire before 65 you may be out of health insurance.
If you become ill you need long term care which is not available through Medicare so plan to be healthy |
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Get help of financial planner to invest for future |
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Estimate your income in retirement. Develop new friends and Hobbies. Plan to learn something new language, skill. Enjoy your family. |
Note: Some of the material obtained from Consumers Reports Money Advisor.
If you need help please contact [email protected]
NEXT WEEK: WHAT IF I DIE TONIGHT?