Retirement Recalibrations
One of the many difficult aspects of present economic times is the impact it will have on nest eggs and retirement plans. While a vast majority of people have seen their overall net worth drop off in the past year, largely due to declines in the financial and real estate sectors, a recent McKinsey study reports that only 26% of consumers have considered a need to delay their retirement date.
Particularly if you aren’t in crisis mode, it’s a good time to evaluate your overall financial status and possibly rethink some of your previous assumptions. Start by objectively deciding how much damage your nest egg has suffered of late. Realizing that many people already haven’t saved enough money to maintain their customary living standard in retirement, take a hard look at three key factors. First, calculate the monthly income you expect get in retirement. Second, estimate the amount of money you have stashed away. Finally, conservatively project the amount of money you’re likely to earn until retirement and percentage of it likely to be saved. These numbers can start to provide a good indication of whether you’ll have the type of dollars you’ll need to retire with a degree of comfort. They may also provide you with incentive to increase the percentage of money you’re safely putting away.