Long-term Planning For a Successful Retirement

Depending on your age, there are different steps you must take to ensure a secure retirement. It’s never too early, or too late for that matter, to plan for the future, especially in today’s economy.

If you are in your 20s and 30s you may think retirement is so far out that you do not need to give it serious consideration.

But even this early in your career its best to begin laying groundwork for the future. Your investment strategy should be fairly aggressive, because you can afford to weather the market’s ups and downs. Over half of your investments should be in stocks and mutual funds (up to 80%), the rest in CDs, bonds, or money markets. Your goal is too keep your credit card debt down, grow your income, and of course sock as much as you can in retirement funds, such as 401(k)s, IRAs, etc.

By the time you are in your 40s or 50s your investment strategy should change a bit, as you are now mid-career. Buying a house, if you haven’t already, can help you build equity while providing you a secure residence for retirement. If you already own a home, be sure to keep on top of the interest rate, shopping around for the best deal possible. Now is a good time to refinance. Consider cutting the amount you hold in stocks or stock mutual funds by at least 10%, and investing more in conservative mutual funds or CDs, bonds, and money market accounts.

In your 60s (and beyond) you need to determine the Social Security and pension to which you are entitled if you choose to retire early as compared to holding off retirement. You can do this either by contacting the SSA directly or having your accountant look into it for you. Speak with a financial advisor about when to begin withdrawing from tax-deferred retirement accounts (after 59 ½ you can take money out without penalty, but the money will be taxed). However, by law, after age 70 ½ you must begin to withdraw the minimum from IRAs and some other retirement funds unless your employer sponsors the plan.

Now is the time to start getting your affairs in order, we’re talking about serious estate planning here, so that your assets are as shielded from estate taxes as possible. It’s also a good idea to change your health insurance to include some kind of long-term care benefit, and to purchase disability or life insurance if you haven’t already done so.

This late in the game you want to try to keep your debt down, but if you think you might be short of funds in your retirement, the time to take out a home-equity loan or apply for additional credit is now, while you are still working. Your investment strategy at this age should be, in a word, conservative. Continue to reduce the amount you hold in stocks, and increase your investment in CDs, bonds, or money markets.

After you decide your retirement age, meet with a Social Security claims representative to determine when you need to apply for benefits (this should be done at least 3 months before you retire). Be sure that all Social Security and pension benefits are set for direct deposit to your bank account, and talk to a financial advisor about the pros and cons of taking any money in your 401 (k) in a lump sum versus payments. Continue to reduce your debt, if possible, and be leery of taking out a reverse mortgage or taking on any other large debt. Continue to reduce your stock fund investments, and increase your holdings in CDs, bonds, or money markets.



For information on Social Security Disability, visit the

Social Security Disability Benefits Resource Center











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