Sponsored by Edelman Financial Services
Good morning Dinks. If you’ve worked your entire life and are now ready to enjoy the fruits of your labor let me ask you something, are you ready? Sometimes couples like to do everything together from planning their vacations to driving to work and doing their weekly errands, does this include retirement?
The answer depends on a variety of factors such as your age, the amount of your retirement savings, what your plans are for retirement and how well you’ve planned for retirement. If you’re creeping up on the golden age of retirement here are some question to ask yourself – and your spouse – to determine when and how you’re going to be able to retire. So how can you get on the right track?
Help from a professional is on the way
Later this month and in May, 9-Time New York Times Bestselling Author and Vice Chairman of Edelman Financial Services David Bach will be visiting LA, Chicago, Detroit and Boston. He will be giving a a class called Smart Couples Finish Rich: The Retirement Seminar. It’s just $15 per person or $25 per couple but if you use this special promo code: DINKSBlog you and your partner can attend for free!
Bach will help couples plan for a happy and secure retirement. He’ll share the lessons and secrets of happy couples who’ve successfully planned their retirements together.
Topics include:
- How to plan for retirement together to avoid running out of money
- The 5 key financial decisions every couple needs to make
- The new retirement strategies for asset allocation and IRA withdrawals
- What to do with old retirement accounts at previous employers
- How you can both maximize your Social Security benefits
And much more…If you want to get helpful information about how to start planning a happy retirement register here. So what are the three questions you and your partner should be able to answer about your retirement dreams?
What are you going to do in retirement?
This is the ultimate question because the answer will determine how much money you’ll need in retirement and therefore when you’ll be able to retire. If you want to sell your home you can use the profits to fund your retirement or to buy a smaller property if you want to downsize. If you plan to relocate to warmer climates the cost of living in a new city also has to be taken into consideration.
Before you can plan when you’re going to retire ask yourself what you want to do in retirement and everything else can fall into place from there.
Are you planning to retire at the same time as your spouse?
My Dad lives with an older woman and she retired three years before him. I think this made may Dad’s last working years very hard. Not necessarily because he wanted to retire and be with her all the time, but because he saw that she was living carefree and he wanted to do it too. My Dad retired in 2009 and never looked back.
My mother on the other hand had a short stint with retirement. She lasted two months and then went back to work. Maybe she wasn’t ready to leave the working world or maybe she was bored at home alone as her spouse was still working full time. These are all things to consider if you plan to retire at a different time than your spouse.
How will you take your retirement income?
When you’re in a couple both incomes have to be taken into consideration when you’re planning to retire. Maybe your spouse has more savings than you do, but maybe they aren’t ready to retire. If your personal savings will be your only income source during retirement ask yourself, will it be enough?
Of course there is social security income but will it be enough to sustain the lifestyle you want to have during retirement? Before putting in your notice at work your income sources are definitely something you need to think about.
Answering these 3 questions can be difficult, but with a little help from David Bach and some financial planning, you and your partner will have a road map towards achieving your retirement dreams.
David Bach is Vice Chairman of Edelman Financial Services LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor. He is an Investment Advisor Representative who offers advisory services through EFS and a Registered Representative of (and offers securities through) Sanders Morris Harris Inc., an affiliated broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC.
Advisory Services offered through Edelman Financial Services LLC. Securities offered through Sanders Morris Harris Inc., an affiliated broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC.
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
My husband and I retired with two weeks of each other nearly ten years ago and have never regretted it for a single day. In addition to being married, we are each others best friend and he is truly the person I want to spend the most time with. We do almost everything together except exercise….he’s a biker and I’m a walker. :)
When planning retirement we were absolutely on the same page with our priorities. We didn’t have plans for what we would do on a daily basis, but it has worked out. We just sort of go with the flow and are never bored even without planned daily activities. After all, that’s sort of the point of retirement. We are fortunate that we don’t have to struggle with finances, living off of his pension and letting our investment (including his and my IRAs compound). It’s been a great ride so far.
As a newlywed couple, we are still working out our kinks in our retirement plans.