Tips to Protect Retirement Income

With Americans living longer, healthcare costs rising, and many people beginning to save later in life, it’s possible to enter retirement unprepared. If you’re currently saving or planning to retire in the near future, here are some tips to help you get and stay on track.

Diversify Your Investments

Some financial investments will perform better than others and it can be difficult or impossible to predict how an individual investment will fare over the long term. That’s why it’s important to diversify.

Having a mix of assets in your portfolio can increase the likelihood that your money will grow in the long run and help shield you from the impact of an economic downturn. Of course, it’s impossible to completely insulate yourself from risk, but diversification may provide a greater measure of security than putting all of your retirement savings into one investment type or objective.

Plan to Live a Long Time after You Retire

It’s common for retirees to live well into their 80s or 90s. That means that your retirement savings may have to last for 20 or 30 years. You will have to plan accordingly to make sure that you don’t run out of money.

Factor healthcare costs into your retirement planning. As people age, they tend to require medication, as well as in-home assistance or care in a nursing home or assisted living facility. You may want to think about purchasing a long-term care insurance policy, or educate yourself about other protective strategies so you won’t have to drain your retirement account to cover those expenses.

Think about Inflation

Inflation gradually decreases the purchasing power of money. Each year that you’re retired, your cost of living will likely increase, but your savings may not grow enough to keep pace. Some types of investments, such as stocks, commodities, real estate securities, and Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) may help your retirement savings keep pace with inflation so you don’t run out of money as the years go by.

Be Strict When It Comes to Withdrawals

You may accumulate a sizable nest egg by the time you retire and may be tempted to make a major purchase, such as a new car, or take a long and expensive vacation. It’s important to be disciplined when withdrawing money from your retirement account. The fact is, you don’t know how long you’ll live or whether you’ll need expensive healthcare in the future. If you withdraw too much money early in your retirement, you may come to regret it later.

Get Professional Help to Plan for Retirement

Toomey Investment Management, Inc. can work with you to develop a diversified investment portfolio to attempt to optimize performance and minimize risk. Our team can develop an integrated plan that also considers insurance and taxes. Contact us today to learn more.

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Unwrap The Gifts Hidden Inside Your Retirement Plan

As we start the new year, I wonder how many people have taken advantage of the various types of retirement plans that were available to them during the previous year. Whether employer-sponsored plans or the various iterations of Individual Retirement Accounts, it is clear to me that most people do not optimize those plans. This is likely a function of not really understanding how they work. So hopefully, this will help you learn how you can get the most from your retirement plan.

I would like to discuss the retirement plan that is most commonly offered by employers. That plan is known as a 401(k) account. The name 401(k) refers to an IRS code section that describes the account. A 401(k) plan is a retirement savings account that allows employees to “defer” receipt of a portion of their salary and redirect it to their 401(k) account. The employee can choose how their contributions are invested from the choices in the plan. That’s a nice and convenient way for you to save for retirement, right?

Well allow me to unwrap the real gifts of these plans. First, if you have a typical 401(k), your contributions will not be assessed federal or state tax-withholdings. For many employees, that translates into saving 8-15% per-dollar of contributions that you make into your 401(k) as opposed to receiving that money in your paycheck. And while the account grows through the years, there will be no income tax on the increase or profits in the account. So if Kris Kringle contributes $5000 to his 401(k), he could save $750 by eliminating tax-withholding and if he makes $2000 in earnings he will not pay any current income taxes on them either. That means your account earnings compound in three ways; on your contributions, on the prior earnings and on tax dollars you haven’t paid. If your employer likes playing Santa, then some of your own contributions may be matched, as well. With or without the match, if you do not direct as much of your salary into the 401(k) as possible, you are electing to pay more in taxes and, of course, choosing to save less for your retirement years.

Although 401(k) plans can have a wide array of features, the primary benefits mentioned above are invaluable year-over-year and will make a tremendous difference during your retirement.

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