QUESTION: I’m 55 years old and starting to think hard about retirement. How much money does it take to retire? I hear you need about 70 to 80 percent of your current work income to enjoy the same lifestyle in retirement.
— Dawn P., Monument
ANSWER: Thanks for leading us into the second phase of our life cycle planning series, Dawn. (Last week we covered financial planning in your 20s and 30s.)
By now, you should be in a habit of making regular contributions to your retirement. Those contributions are ideally 20 percent of your monthly income.
Dawn, you mentioned that you heard a rule of thumb of shooting for 70 to 80 percent of your current income to enjoy a comfortable retirement. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of rules of thumb. Why? Because finance isn’t one size fits all. Let me give you a few examples:
Bill and Kathleen will only have to replace 50 percent of their current income at retirement. How did they manage that? They plan to trade their big home for a condo and cut back on living expenses.
Linda and Rick, on the other hand, want to travel the world when they retire. They are saving a little more each month to make their dreams come true.
Jake decided to retire in Panama City. He will enjoy a comfortable lifestyle with a much smaller price tag than he pays now. Therefore, Jake can adjust his monthly contribution percentage down a bit.
As you can see, it is very different for everyone. I suggest you envision the retirement you want first. Will you continue to work but reduce your hours? Will you simplify your lifestyle or do you plan to get more extravagant in old age?
Then, prepare a retirement budget. Write down what expenses you will get rid of or reduce and what expenses will be added or increased. A typical life cycle expense curve starts out a little high, then dips lower in the middle of your life, and then increases again as health issues require more attention.
Next, ask your financial planner to run a retirement projection. This will show you if you need to ramp up your savings to meet your goal. Your 40s and 50s is prime time to sock away as much as you can and maximize your contributions to your retirement accounts. In 2010, after age 50, you can also put an extra $5,500 into your 401(k) and $1,000 into your IRA.
If your funding goal seems impossible right now, bump up your savings percentage gradually every six months until you reach the max.
The Insured Retirement Institute has developed a retirement pyramid that suggests an ideal way to position your retirement funds. It includes a healthy mix of the following:
• Guaranteed income (Social Security, pension, annuity)
• Long-term assets (401(k), 403(b), IRAs)
• Insurance (life, health, long-term care, Medicare)
• Investments (CDs, bonds, stocks, funds)
We have all learned a valuable lesson from this recession: Create a flexible financial plan. Don’t put your vision of retirement at risk. Make sure you have a secure Plan B in addition to your perfect-world plan.
Mystified by money? Ask Denisa and improve your financial literacy. Denisa Tova MBA, CFP®, CDFA is a Colorado Springs-based Certified Financial Planner and CEO of DaVinci Financial Planning. Submit financial questions to her at denisa.tova@gazette.com.
