"Explorations of the Insurance Policy Zone

Have your retirement income planning efforts resulted in enough of a nest egg to last your entire lifetime? Many seniors and near-retirees will not be able to live well as they would like in retirement, especially as they are worried about the rising costs of healthcare, future inflation rates, and the possibility of low returns from their investment portfolio. To make matters worse, there are a surprising number of Americans who are putting off saving for retirement until ten years or so prior to it. Today, less than a third of all workers nearing retirement are confident that they have adequate resources, with a considerable percentage of these individuals suffering from debt.

How Much Do You Need in Retirement?

While it is not a hard-and-fast rule but a guideline to help retirement savers get started, experts say that you should have around 60-80% of your preretirement income as a nest egg to maintain your current lifestyle. The benefits you expect from years of participating in Social Security may be able to amount to about 20-30% of your retirement income, while employer-sponsored retirement plans may give you another twenty percent. The total of your pension and Social Security benefits, in this case, will only amount to approximately half of the money you need, making investments and personal savings integral to your financial health. Again, keep in mind that these figures should only serve as a guide; your retirement budget depends on your personal situation, and factors such as age, standard of living, health, and so on.

When Should You Start Planning?

Retirement income planning should start decades away from retirement. The generous time frame allows you to plan well and choose the best investments for your golden years, in addition to giving your funds the added boost of compounding interest for investments such as retirement plan contributions, for example. However, even late retirement savers who only have a decade or so prior to retirement can accumulate enough by hiking up their plan contributions, slashing major and minor expenses, or postponing retirement for a number of years.

Solid financial plans for retirement are often built around a sizeable nest egg with enough funds to last you the rest of your life. To achieve the goal of financial stability, you will need a well-diversified portfolio, external investments like life insurance policies and annuities from reputable providers, and a retirement income planning strategy for earning from your investments and withdrawing from your retirement savings.

About the Author:

Katherine Smith is an author who specializes in financial topics concerning seniors. Puritan Financial Group gives seniors reliable investment options to help them strengthen their retirement income planning strategy. For more information on how Puritan Financial Group can help you, please visit our website at http://www.puritanlife.com/solutions/retirement_planning.

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