Plan for Retirement

Are You Planning For Retirement?

Approximately one-third of credit union members indicate that "assuring a comfortable standard of living during retirement" is their most important financial goal.

Older members place it even higher on their priority list. Forty percent of members ages 45-54 and thirty-nine percent of members ages 55-64, consider a comfortable retirement their most important long-term goal. These statistics also demonstrate that many members are not planning for their retirement.

It’s Never Too Late

The sooner you begin saving and investing, the more you will earn. But, even if you get a late start, you can still increase your retirement earnings if you start planning adequately right now. If you are among the credit union members that have not established a regular saving plan, here are some facts you should know.

According to a recent national survey, the majority of Americans have saved less than $50,000, and almost one-fourth of all workers have saved less than $10,000 toward retirement.

Half of those surveyed have calculated how much money they will need to save by the time they retire, but many don’t consider the number of retirement years or how much Social Security they will actually receive.

Social Security makes up less than half of the retirement needs for the majority of Americans. For example, assuming you maintain the same lifestyle expenses, Social Security would provide roughly forty percent of your retirement income. Whether Social Security and Medicare will continue to provide adequate benefits is the real question.

Fewer companies are providing traditional pension plans, but many are providing alternatives, such as 401(k) plans. Such plans depend on annual employer and employee contributions and the accounts investment performance.

Start Planning Now

Retirement planning is a complex and critical aspect of financial planning. While you can and should take charge of your retirement destiny, your credit union can provide assistance along the way. Developing a strategy now is the best way to insure a worry-free retirement. Contact the credit union for more information.

Source: The National Endowment for Financial Education

Lifestage IRA Investing

Financial security for your retirement is something you can work on at any stage of your life. Here are some guidelines on strategies for making your golden years fiscally comfortable and pleasant.

When You’re In Your Twenties – Start Saving
  • Contribute To Your Employer’s Retirement-Savings Plan
  • Invest Most Of Your Money In Stocks
  • Open An IRA

When You’re In Your Thirties – Get Serious
  • Set Retirement Savings Goals
  • Invest The Most You Can In Your Retirement Plan
  • Diversify Your Investments

When You’re In Your Forties – Adjust As Necessary
  • Evaluate The Retirement Impact Of Changing Jobs
  • Rollover Your Previous Job’s Retirement Assets Into An IRA
  • Shift Some Assets From Stocks To Bonds & Cash
  • See A Financial Planner

When You’re In Your Fifties – Step It Up
  • Revise Your Earlier Retirement-Savings Estimate
  • Save More Aggressively
  • Reallocate Your Investments To A More Conservative Mix

When You’re In Your Sixties – Fine-Tune
  • Pick The Best Time To Start Collecting Social Security
  • Consider Your Housing Options
  • Convert To Mostly Income-Producing Investments

For advice on your particular retirement situation, stop in or call us. We have a wide variety of IRA and investment products that can be a part of your retirement plan.