Tips To Tackle 3 Risks You May Face In Retirement
Are you approaching retirement age? Worried that you won't be ready? You're not alone. Retirement has become a difficult challenge for many workers. There was a time when retirees could count on Social Security and a pension to fund their expenses. However, that time has long since passed. Most employers no longer offer a pension, and while Social Security is a valuable resource, it's usually not enough to cover all of one's expenses.
That means that today's retirees have to shoulder much of the burden for saving money for their retirement. With disciplined and focused saving, it's possible to accumulate enough assets to fund your ideal lifestyle. However, you'll also need to take steps to protect yourself from risks and threats. Below are three risks that many retirees fail to plan for. If you haven't developed a plan to address these threats, you may want to meet with a financial services professional. They can help you implement a strategy.
Health care. As you get older, you may become more vulnerable to illness and injury. You also won't have the benefit of an employer health insurance plan. Instead, you'll be on Medicare. While Medicare is helpful and important, it doesn't cover everything. You'll still face costs for things like premiums, copays, deductibles, and more. There are also many services that aren't covered by Medicare, like dental treatment and long-term care. Talk to your financial services professional about other options, like long-term care insurance or supplemental health insurance. You could also use a health savings account while you're still working to save money for health care costs after you retire.
Market downturns. If you're like many workers, you're using an account like a 401(k) plan or an IRA to save for retirement. These accounts let you invest in the markets and accumulate assets on a tax-efficient basis. However, after retirement, you'll likely need to take withdrawals from these accounts to help you pay your bills. The problem is that if your investments take a steep downturn, it could limit your ability to take distributions from your savings. You may even deplete your assets.
A financial services professional can help you take steps to minimize the risk. For instance, they may recommend you change your investment allocation so you have less risk exposure. Or they may suggest tools like annuities to help you protect your income or minimize your market volatility.
Inflation. If you retire in your 60s, it's possible that you could live in retirement for several decades. People are living longer than ever, so it's not unreasonable that you may live into your 90s. Over that period of time, your cost of living will likely increase due to inflation, which is the incremental increase in prices of goods and services from year to year. You may need to increase your income each year to maintain your standard of living. Work with a financial services professional to develop a budget so that you can increase your distributions each year. You also may want to delay filing for Social Security as long as possible. The longer you wait to file, the higher your payment will be. That could help you manage increased cost of living.
Ready to implement your retirement strategy? Talk to a financial services professional today. They can help yo analyze your needs and risks and develop a plan.