DEVELOP A LONG TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY
DEVELOP A LONG TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGYOne of the best ways to help you stay on track for retirement is to develop a financial strategy, which takes into account your current financial circumstances and future goals. A long-term strategy can help you map out important milestones like a house purchase, a child’s college expenses, your future retirement, and ensure that you are putting enough away for future goals. A disciplined investment strategy can also help you avoid the pitfalls of emotional investing, which often cause investors to make potential mistakes, like selling off their investments when markets decline. These errors can have a big effect on your long-term investment returns.
Strategizing early makes it easier to prepare for important future goals and identify any potential savings shortfalls that could create problems later. A financial professional can help you develop a strategy around your personal goals, which would include a sound investment strategy.
UNDERSTAND INVESTMENT RISK & TIME HORIZON
Investors need different investment strategies at different points in their careers. Asset allocation is an investment strategy designed to help balance risk and return by adjusting the allocation, or percentage, of different investment types in your portfolio according to your age, goals, risk tolerance, and other factors. Though no investment strategy can guarantee profits or completely protect you from losses, a prudently designed allocation strategy can help you manage risk while pursuing investment returns. If you have many years of employment ahead of you, you may want to consider a more aggressive investment strategy that offers higher potential returns. As you get closer to retirement, your needs and ability to absorb risk will change, and it’s important to review your investment strategy and make changes, if necessary. Over time, market performance will cause alterations in the respective values of your different asset classes, creating the possible need for adjustments and rebalancing to bring your portfolio back in line with your target allocation. It’s a good idea to review your investment strategy at least once annually or whenever your needs change.
TRANSITIONING TO RETIREMENT
If you’re thinking about retiring soon, you may have many questions. Many Americans aren’t sure about when they can afford to retire or how large their retirement nest egg may need to be. When you’re evaluating the decision to retire, consider the following.
• Retirement finances. In order to retire, you should be prepared to cover your retirement living expenses through your retirement savings, Social Security benefits, and other sources of income.
• Health and longevity expectations. Your current health, family medical history, and lifestyle can help you estimate how long you might expect to live in retirement and how much you should budget for health care expenses.
• Spousal age and status. If you’re married, work together with your spouse to determine a retirement timeline that suits both your needs.
• Eligibility for benefits. Work with your employer to understand your full benefits, including any health insurance coverage needed until you and your spouse become eligible for Medicare.
The decision about when to retire depends entirely on your personal circumstances. A financial professional can help you understand how your age, finances, health, and sources of income may factor into retirement strategizing calculations.
HOW CAN A FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL HELP ME?
Regardless of what stage of life you are currently in, sound financial strategizing can help you set financial goals and build a game plan. For most Americans, a comfortable retirement is one of their primary objectives, and we can help you ensure that your savings and strategies are on track. However, financial advice is also very useful for other important milestones, like the purchase of a house, a college education, or the elimination of debt. Many Americans have complex finances, and professional guidance can help you be better prepared to meet the future. We offer a range of services that can help you manage debt, save for the future, and protect your family from the unknown.
NEXT STEPS
We hope you’ve found this guide informative, educational, and most of all, reassuring. While benefits and retirement plans can be complex, taking action on a few of the steps that we’ve outlined may make a big difference for the future. We want to present ourselves as a resource to you and your family as you prepare for retirement. It’s common to have questions and concerns, and we are happy to answer any questions that you may have about your personal financial situation or future goals. If you have any questions about the information presented in this report, please contact us. We would be happy to be of service to you and your family.