If you have made debt a part of your everyday life, you need to get rid of it as soon as possible, before you find yourself in retirement. Remember that during retirement, you don’t work for income. Whatever amount of money you get is through pension funds, and investment flow is not a regular source of income, and will be diminished at some point of time. Thus you can’t afford to use them up very fast.

Your retirement lifestyle in general should be subdued, not be laden with luxury. Moreover, you should ensure that you have adopted debt reduction strategies to at least diminish a great deal, if not completely do away with, your debts. You should also plan for your retirement from now onward. The best way to finance your retirement is to opt for an investment plan. A good investment portfolio can see you through your retirement years. Read on to know the steps you should take to ensure you have a proper retirement investment plan.

1. Evaluate your risks. It is very important that you understand your risk tolerance level before you venture into an investment portfolio. This risk tolerance is not only emotional risk tolerance, but also financial. You should consider the sources of income you are likely to have, and the amount of risk that you can handle. Then you should allocate your assets based on the appropriate amount of risk that you can take and venture to make a portfolio.
2. Decide on your post-retirement lifestyle. You should estimate your expenses after retirement, after considering the expenses you incur now. This you can do by considering the goals you want to accomplish. You have to approximate your monthly expenditures, which include insurance premiums, utilities, travel expenses and other daily expenditures. It is recommended by most financial experts that you draw out just about 4% of your assets in the first year of retirement, and then adjust according to inflation.
3. Get assistance if you need it. Assessing your financial situation and thereby making a plan is not an easy thing to do. You might need help to carry this out. You can take help of online calculators that are available free of cost, and tools that can help you determine your expenditure pre- and post-retirement. You may also seek professional help from counselors who may give you one-time session or a long-term wealth management plan, depending on your choice.
4. Consider the potential income streams. One of the foremost things to do while building a retirement portfolio is to consider income streams that can cover the expenses you will incur. The withdrawal rate can be diminished by adding money from income streams such as businesses and websites. Other sources of income can include any pension, inheritance and Social Security. You should evaluate your investment portfolio carefully and decide whether you would need to transfer some of your assets into investments such as stocks and bonds that generate income through dividends. Annuities are also a good source of income after retirement.
5. Consider taxes. Taxes are an omnipresent part of your life that may not leave you even after retirement. You should do proper research and find out that some investment accounts, such as Roth accounts, don’t require you be taxed on withdrawals. However, there are many traditional investment accounts that grow tax-deferred. This means that when you make withdrawals from these accounts, you will be charged taxes as if they were regular income.

————

CPA, tax preparer and investment advisors love to work with us. We work in the asset protection side, no fee in our services as retirement planners and are more conservative with long-term outlook. Call Connie Dello Buono CA Life Lic 0G60621 for free tax free retirement planning at 408-854-1883 motherhealth@gmail.com in 50 US states.