Monday, April 7, 2008

Retirement Planning Considerations

The Wall Street Journal.'s Retirement-Planning Guide discusses a guidebook that is "a blueprint for building a successful retirement" and shares the following "Potential Cracks In Your Nest Egg":

  • TimingPlan on paying off as much debt as possible before tapping your retirement assets and consider a phased retirement.
  • Life expectancyTo be safe, expect to live to be ninety or ninety-five.
  • Taxes and inflationRemember that different expenses increase at different rates.
  • Health-care expensesAlmost all dental, hearing, and vision expenses are not covered under Medicare.
  • Working in retirementWhat if you are disabled or unable to find the work that you are looking for?
  • Saving money -- even in retirementEven in retirement, you will likely need to continue to save for unexpected expenses.
  • Withdrawals from nest eggsA realistic rate of withdrawal is about 4 percent.
  • Asset allocationMake sure you are gradually moving into less risky investments as you get closer to retirement rather than waiting until retirement to make the change.

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