Retirement Planning - Some Basic Advice

There are really only three primary factors to consider when doing retirement planning. The first is determining how much to save, the second is how to invest your retirement savings and the last is how do you draw down your savings in retirement. All of these factors are important but their relative importance changes as you get older and your savings accumulate. Also, all of these factors are relevant to your retirement planning, regardless of your age. As you go from your younger years where you make an early retirement plan through middle age and into retirement, the principles are the same; it's the way you look at them that changes.

Early Retirement Planning - You probably know starting your retirement planning as early as possible is very important (this is a topic that is covered in detail elsewhere in Boulevard R). The good news is that retirement planning at this point is pretty simple so it's easy to start. How much you need to save is the primary factor and the answer here is the same for 99% of people at this stage - you need to save as much as you can. That may sound like a silly answer but the reality is most younger people don't have enough income to be able to save too much. Further, the benefits to front loading your retirement savings are huge. This is not to say you should only save for retirement, rather that it should be close to the top of the list of your financial priorities. Remember you'll still need money available for emergencies and to put toward other goals, but try to find as much room as possible for your retirement savings.

Investments, while important, aren't the biggest concern yet as your account balances are low relative to what you hope to have accumulated as retirement savings later. Also, you are investing for the very long term so the risk profile is easy too - take as much risk with your retirement account as you can reasonably stand. In the early years lousy markets are your friend because they let you invest your cash when investments are cheap.

Your withdrawals in retirement may seem irrelevant here but in fact they still matter as you should have a goal to shoot toward. That goal may change over time, maybe even frequently, but you need to have a goal and expectation for how you're going to live when you retire. If you don't know where you're going it's really hard to figure out how to get there.

Mid-Life Retirement Planning - At this point you've begun to achieve some of your other financial goals like buying a house and saving money for your kid's college education, but you still have considerable demands on your finances. In addition, the specter of retirement is beginning to loom large. How much you save for retirement at this stage remains a big factor in your planning. If you're behind, this is when you need to get serious about catching up. If you're on track you need to review all your numbers to make sure your assumptions are appropriate and realistic. While it's still hard to save too much for retirement, if you've accumulated a big retirement fund you may want to consider adding to savings and investments outside your retirement accounts so as to have more flexibility in tax options when you retire.

How you are investing is now very important. Risk profile, diversification and returns are all concepts that you should be familiar with or learning. Your account has grown so you need to start paying attention to how it's invested because it will make a difference. Don't get too conservative just because your retirement savings account is getting large. Boulevard R can help lead you to loads of good investment advice. Get your retirement investments broadly diversified, keep track of how you are doing and rebalance your account periodically. Don't panic if the markets go down. You still have a lot of years until retirement and today's down markets can still be your friend long term.

Your withdrawal plan begins to be more important. You now have a better idea of when you might be able to retire, what lifestyle you'll want in retirement and if health concerns will be a factor. Don't underestimate how long you might live and the extent to which inflation is an important consideration. Think of your retirement date as a flexible goal and not a deadline. One of the easiest ways to make your retirement assets last is to delay withdrawing them so be prepared to work a bit longer if you are behind in your savings.

Late Retirement Planning - Up to this point you've been planning to retire but now you're planning for life in retirement. How much you save can still be an issue because unless you are one-hundred percent confident you have more than enough money to live on; you may need to take a few years to see how your withdrawals are affecting your portfolio. It's a common problem for new retirees to spend way beyond their budgets in the early years and regret it later. If the stock market and your investments are doing poorly curtail your spending so your portfolio has the chance to recover. You can actually continue to save simply by not spending, essentially the same as before you retired.

Investments remain a very important factor. Don't get too conservative just because you're retired. Chances are you'll be living another twenty plus years so you still need to own some riskier, high return investments. The trick is to gradually shift your retirement investment portfolio so that it gets less risky over time. A well diversified portfolio is still very important but now you should also carry a reasonable amount of safe, short term investments to help fund your withdrawals and carry you through weak markets.

Your withdrawal plan is critical at this stage. The most important thing is to have a plan, set a budget, and live by it. What seems like a lot of money the day you retire may not be when you look back on it in twenty years. Review your withdrawal plan regularly in the context of your portfolio investment return, your health and your cost of living. You've worked hard to save up for retirement, don't risk it by failing to have a plan to make it last.

Retirement planning can seem pretty complex and difficult. The most important thing is to get started early in planning for retirement. The worst retirement plan is no plan at all. BoulevardR has lots of great ways for you to get started and to help you fine tune your retirement plan as you get older. There's no time like the present to get started.

For most people saving for retirement involves putting some money away every month, maybe trying to invest it well, and then hoping for the best. Very few of us actually plan out a retirement savings strategy and fewer still have any idea how much they need to save before they retire. One solution is to hire a retirement plan specialist or financial planner to help you but you may not want to spend the money required to get personal advice. Various online resources can calculate some numbers for you but they don't really address your specific goals or work with you to achieve them. Boulevard R can help you as you look at the whole picture, not only by using your specific goals in your plan but also by helping you achieve those goals. But before you start, let's look at a few key considerations that will help you with the process.

The best retirement plan for you will be different from the best retirement plan for someone else. People's goals in retirement are different and their retirement plans should reflect that. Someone who wants to spend the bulk of her time doing community service will have very different needs in retirement than someone whose passion is exotic travel. Thank about what you like to do and how much it costs to do it.

Be realistic. It's easy to say to yourself, "My retirement Plan needs to fund a fabulous beach front home." Unfortunately the reality is that a high end life style is expensive and you may never be able to afford your beach front dream house unless you can dramatically increase your income and ultimately your retirement savings. There are a lot of paths to take in retirement, be realistic about which paths are within your financial reach.

Be flexible in your planning and don't box yourself in. You may think "My retirement plan only needs to give me enough money so I can stay home and read good books," but in a few years you may very well have different ideas. If you only save a little now because you think you won't need much in retirement you may limit your options later.

Expect to change your goals. Look back 30 or more years and it's amazing the things we do today that weren't even imagined back then. Our lives and opportunities for retirement activities will be even more different 30 or 40 years from now. Your actual retirement may be different than your best retirement plan today in ways that you can't now imagine. Keep your retirement goals general and be prepared to adjust them as time goes by.

Am I saving enough? We can't predict the future but we can set some parameters and try to make intelligent decisions. Boulevard R will help you decide if your savings rate will have a good probability of getting you to your retirement goals. Remember, a lot of the satisfaction in planning for retirement is derived from setting realistic goals and laying out an achievable path to reach them. As time goes by you'll need to regularly check your progress and potentially adjust your savings and/or goals. Saving a little extra now, even if you think you're currently saving enough, will likely give you even better flexibility and options down the road.

What do I need to do after I have my retirement plan is laid out? Planning is a process not an end unto itself. You should track your investments, reaffirm or rethink your goals and review your plan on a regular basis. Boulevard R will help you.

How do I start to do a retirement plan? Boulevard R's achievable, 5-step retirement planning process gives you a place to start and an ongoing way to monitor your progress toward your retirement goals. The best plan for retirement is to save and that's what Boulevard R helps you do. We are retirement plan specialists who can help keep you on track and let you know good ways to save. We started the company because we saw that consumers were not being served well by online tools that only give you an amount you need to save without considering your needs and goals. What we're really proud of at Boulevard R is the fact that we've designed the whole service with consumers in mind so that we can help you track your progress and then provide relevant tips and articles to keep you motivated. Your success is our success.