Optimizing Your Retirement Income

By Christine S. Fahlund

Given the increase in life expectancy and skyrocketing cost of living, many retirees are falling short of how much they need to retire comfortably. The number of poor or near-poor people over the age of 62 is set to increase by 25% between 2018 and 2045, from 17.5 million to 21.8 million. While the concern of retirement saving shortfalls continues to mount, there are a number of steps individuals can take to maximize their retirement income.

The article Optimizing Your Retirement Income: What Works Best and Why offers strategies to combat the risk of retirement savings deficiencies. And while all the strategies listed may not work for everyone, the reality is that without better planning, many will run out of money long before running out of life.

Some of the key elements from the article include:

• When to stop working
• When to start taking Social Security
• How to manage withdrawals from savings
• The importance of balanced asset allocation

While we don’t expect you to change your retirement income strategy overnight, we hope that this article can help you remain on track with your retirement savings. The overarching concepts are to maintain flexibility in your plans for retirement and make thoughtful decisions regarding financial matters that are under your control.

Such pre-retirement planning can make a world of a difference when it comes to your financial prospects.

By Rande Spiegelman

As more employers are shifting away from traditional defined-benefit pension plans, employees retiring with defined-contribution plans are faced with the perplexing decision of taking a one-time lump-sum payout or receiving monthly annuity payments.

The article Lump Sum or Annuity: Which Should You Choose at Retirement? helps highlight important factors that retirees should take into consideration when making the decision between a lump sum or annuity payment option. The article also points out how these considerations may change based on if you’re single, married or happen to outlive your spouse.

Some of the key elements the article takes into consideration are:

• Life expectancy
• Reliability of annuity providers
• Inflation risks
• Taxes
• Convenience of annuity vs. lump sum options

Retirement planning is daunting enough given all of the “what ifs” in the current market. By taking into consideration factors that may not first come to mind when picking a payment plan, you are better equipping yourself to make the most out of your future retirement income.