Retirement Planning
Retirement planning is usually one of the neglected chores to even be put on a to do list unless you are very rich and have excellent advice. Actually it is something that one should be concerned about as early as possible. Your plan should also be updated periodically. This seems like a lot of hassle but with today's computers, applications, and calculators it can be fun. Not only will a good plan ensure that all of your things, money, and other possessions go where you want them to go, but it also ensures that the government gets as little as possible. So let's start our retirement planning. Estate PlanningVery simply, Estate Planning is the master plan that you should lay out when you have all your faculties present and includes things like a will, a living will, a health care proxy, possibly a trust, and long term care insurance. It should be important for you to be able to decide how your assets will be split up and that all financial matters are in order. Most of all, estate planning can keep the taxes due upon your death to a minimum.It is never too early to start working on your estate plan as one needs only to look at the daily paper or evening news to learn about the untimely passing of loved ones. If you do no estate planning at all, you should at least make out a will as this will save your heirs from a lot of grief and unnecessary expenses. Passing on without a will, known as dying “intestate” automatically gives up your rights to determine how your assets are divided up. Your estate will go before the probate court and decisions will be rendered that may not have been in your best wishes. The site visitor is encouraged to click on the tab on the left that is devoted entirely to Estate Planning. I have included in this section to emphasize the importance of Estate Planning as part of your Retirment Planning
Retirement Calculators
There are many many sites that offer retirement calculators to help take the guesswork out of retirement planning. You should know what it takes to work towards a secure retirement. Some calculators will allow you to include a non-working spouse and your social social security benefits to get a full picture. With these tools you can figure out things like:
And many, many more. The point is there is no excuse for not knowing the things you need to know to make your retirement as enjoyable as possible. If for no other reason, you need to at least find out if you can afford to retire and once retired, how much can you spend without outliving your nest egg! A rule of thumb here is that you can withdraw 4% in your first year of retirement and then increase that by 1% to 3% yearly to keep up with inflation. A little more if we are in a bull market and a little less if we are in a bear market. This pattern of with-drawl should easily be able to let you fund a 25 to 30 year retirement. For calculators, check out
Go to Retirement Concepts from Retirement Planning
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