Planning for your Retirement

It is never too early to start planning your retirement! What you need to do specifically depends of several factors:

- Your age

- Your income level

- Your employment and your employer's pension plan, if any

- Your marital status

- Your family situation

- Your planned retirement Lifestyle For more information on lifestyle planning, be sure to check out our sister website, Retire To Easy Street.com

There are certain 'ground rules' that will surely maximize your retirement investments.

1. If you employer has matching contributions to a 40lk plan, it is important that you 'max out' your investment. It is usually accomplished with pre-tax dollars and coupled with your employer's share, will produce better than market returns, in most cases.

2. It is important to contribute to your IRA each year to the maximum extent possible. Funds invested there will grow significantly because of their favored tax treatment. (You'll need to learn the rules concerning your IRA investment at www.irs.gov)

3. The earlier you are in your retirement investment program, the more risk tolerant you cna be. We're not talking about investing is very risky investments, here, only that you don't need to be too conservative. The financial markets of the world operate in 3-5 year cycles in which the numbers rise and fall based on economic trends. The longer your time horizon until retirement, the greater your opportunities to weather market weak times.

4. As you near retirement age or position, you'll need to begin planning a 'Retirement Profit & Loss' in which you estimate the income needed to support your desired lifestyle as well as the income you will need to budget for your retirement years.

Here are some links to Retirement Calculators to assist in your planning process. Of course, it's always a good idea to plan conservatively so the results will likely outproduce your plan. It certainly would not be good if you outlived your retirement nest egg!

There are many investment and cashflow vehicles available for you to consider when planning your retirement. You may wish to consider establishing a Trust to provide for favorable tax treatment and cashflow and many retirees have purchased Annuities to provide for guaranteed cashflow throughout their retirement (and that of their spouse). Such tools need to be evaluated side by side with Mutual Funds, Index Funds, CD's, Bonds, Money Market Funds, etc. as you plan your retirement.

This is an exciting time for you. An ounce of planning now is worth a pound of sorrow later.

Note: The author, publisher and webmaster of Retireeworld.com never gives legal, accounting, medical or any other type of advice. The reader must always seek those services from competent professionals that can review their own particular circumstances. We particularly disclaim any liability, loss, or risk taken by individuals who directly or indirectly act on the information contained herein. All readers must accept full responsibility for their use of this material.