Retirement Income Planning


Retirement Income planning is very different to preparing to retire. While working, the biggest decision to be made is how much to save and then making sure to save that amount. When it comes to retirement income planning you now have a finite bucket of money that needs to last as long as you live. Ensuring that you don’t outlive your money is complicated by the fact that we can’t see into the future.

  • How long will you live?
  • What will your health be like?
  • How will the stock market perform?
  • What will inflation be?
  • What unseen events could derail your plan?

If we could answer the above questions retirement income planning would be easy. Instead we start with a whole lot of unknown and we don’t have the ability to come back and do it again.

If you are interested to know whether you have thought of everything please download my document '91 Retirement Questions'. I hope it helps for better planning.

When saving for retirement ROI means 'return on investment'. Whereas in retirement ROI becomes known as 'reliability of income'.  Reliable income is dependent on an investment strategy with the objective of providing inflation-adjusted income for life. In many cases an emphasis is placed on guaranteed streams of income that continue for life. Americans are increasingly being forced to rely upon their own retirement savings to create the retirement income they will need. With longevity increasing creating durable streams of retirement income can be challenging.

 

The degree to which guranteed income streams are needed will depend on your particular financial picture and your degree of risk tolerance. Some people sleep easier knowing their retirement income is guaranteed whereas other enjoy the flexibility and risk of the market.