The Complete Retirement Planner Blog

The magic question when saving for retirement revolves around how much you will really need to save to have those savings last for at least 25 years (assuming that you retire at age 65). Of course, creating a comprehensive financial plan will help to answer this question with the most detail and reliability, but many people initially look for a quick guide to at least get the conversation started. On any given day there are countless articles focused on suggesting generic benchmarks for anyone and everyone to use as retirement savings goals, with 99% of that "information" simply being regurgitated...

One of the main benefits of a financial plan is that it helps to forecast how you are likely to fare financially as the years go by. But the future being what it is, i.e., unpredictable, it should also be used to test how you would fare if circumstances did not turn out as expected. If you were to die prematurely, how would the loss of your income affect your spouse, if married, or any dependents? If you are not married, and do not have any dependents, you may not need life insurance, but if you do, you may want...

A simplified approach to retirement planning revolves around projecting your annual expenses, and then multiplying that amount by 20-25 years to come up with a savings goal. Creating an accurate and itemized list of all expenses expected during retirement is an essential step in responsible financial planning, but the idea of simply multiplying that total by 25 years to arrive at a savings goal is seriously lacking on many levels. Even if you figure out the optimal savings needed (use a large margin of error when trying to predict the future),is running out of money in your 90th year your...

The following is Part II of our 1.1.22 blog post:At What Age Should You Claim Social Security? Everyone's circumstances and needs are unique, so only you know the answer to this. The best course of action is to make sure that you understand all of your options so that you will be comfortable with your decision in the long run. In general, the earliest that you can start claiming Social Security is at age 62. However, your benefit is reduced by ~8% for every year that you claim before your Full Retirement Age (age 66 if born before 1960, otherwise...

Especially at the beginning of a new year, there seems to be a never-ending supply of articles offering advice about retirement planning. Some offer well thought out points, some offer generic assumptions, some offer half-truths, and some don't seem to have much to offer at all. The following topics need some clarity before taking them too seriously:• Plan On Replacing 75% Of Your Salary In Retirement. Really? Many articles suggest that you should plan on replacing 70% - 80% of your gross salary in retirement, so I split the difference. In general terms, with a salary of $75,000 per year, you...