Age 55-64

RETIREMENT PLANNING

These Links Might Be Helpful, But Please Have All Calculations Checked By A Professional. We Give No Assurance As To There Accuracy

Retirement saving
IRA eligibility
Roth ira conversion
Impact of inflation
Cost of waiting
Home affordability
Loan acceleration
Loan amortization
Home refinance
Credit card payoff
Lease vs purchase
Life insurance need
Life expectancy
Net worth
Cash flow
Lifetime earnings
Future value estimator
Lump sum vs payments
Number of periods
Internal rate of return
Rule of 72
Saving for college
Risk profiler
Taxable/tax-deferred
Needed savings
Asset allocation
Savings growth
2005 income tax
Paycheck analyzer
Federal withholding
Estate taxes
Cafet./401(k) analysis

55 - 64 The Pre-Retirees

Financially this is a particularly tough time of life. Children are educated and most of the time out of the house and you think you are going to gain control over your finances. Then you realize that in America today with one of our lowest unemployment rates in years, companies announced the elimination of some 600,000 jobs in 1998. In an article published in Fortune magazine called "Finished at Forty", Nina Munk stated that "The older an employee, the more likely it is he can be replaced by someone younger who earns half as much. 'For my salary the company could hire two twentysomethings,' says a 41-year-old. But am I better than two people? Even I know that's not true." For every $10,000 you earn you need to plan on a month to six weeks time for a job search and plan to be able to live on about 60% to 80% of what you were making.

This is the time in life to reeducate your self. Take every possible continuing education course you can get your hands on. Take a hard look at the trends in your industry. If your company is getting a every increasing share of the "buggy whip" market in an era when cars are gaining popularity you are in trouble. Look for the next logical move. Get educated in that area starting today. Time and procrastination are going to be your worst enemy.

This is a time to plan for your retirement business. Plan on working longer than your parents did. Having a good home based business during this time of life is very helpful. This might be doing something you enjoy, where there is a need, and you can make some money on it. If you like woodworking, find something that you enjoy making, find a market for it and start building a business. A Bartram adage is "Always plan for you next job at the expense of your present employer". Translated this means - Education, Education, Education.

Wise up about Social Security and retirement planning. Get together with your accountant and calculate the best age for retirement based on your net worth, retirement plan options and Social Security.

Start planning for your retirement. Keep a 3 X 5 card file on everything you would like to do if you had more time. Some day when your spouse wants to be alone she/he can go to this file, pull out a card and say, "Honey, why don't you do this today?"

Return to Main Page