{"id":597,"date":"2019-09-12T18:47:21","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T18:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/?p=597"},"modified":"2019-09-12T18:47:21","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T18:47:21","slug":"4-ways-to-optimize-your-retirement-savings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/4-ways-to-optimize-your-retirement-savings\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways to Optimize Your Retirement Savings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Planning for your retirement can be extremely overwhelming. After all, you have to figure out how you\u2019re going to <\/span>live off your retirement savings<\/span><\/a> for the rest of your life. How do you know if you have enough saved up? Will you be able to live according to the same standard of living you\u2019re accustomed to? Will you need to continue working on the side?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Below, we\u2019ve gathered some tips for how to <\/span>make the most of your retirement<\/span><\/a> savings and set yourself up for success.<\/span><\/p>\n

Utilize a reverse mortgage<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re aged 62 or older, live in your home permanently, and have <\/span>substantial equity in your home<\/span><\/a> – you may be eligible for a reverse mortgage. What\u2019s a reverse mortgage, exactly? It\u2019s a form of financing that converts the equity you already have built up in your home into usable cash you can use however you see fit. For example, you can use it to cover healthcare expenses, pursue your new archery hobby, pay for <\/span>groceries<\/span><\/a>, or buy new hiking boots for your <\/span>hiking club<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can use a <\/span>HECM calculator<\/span><\/a> to see what kind of loan you may be able to expect.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plan out your guaranteed income<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the major forms of income you\u2019ll need when you\u2019re retired is a form (or forms) of guaranteed income. It may come from a reverse mortgage, as we mentioned earlier, which allows you to choose payments in the form of a lump sum or monthly payments or a combination of both.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Guaranteed income may also mean your Social Security benefits. It\u2019s important to note that the size of your Social Security benefit will depend on when you actually start taking the benefit. For example, if you delay collecting until your full retirement age which is usually around 66-67 years old, you\u2019ll receive the full amount of your benefit rather than the reduced amount you\u2019d get if you started receiving them at 62 (when you\u2019re first eligible).<\/span><\/p>\n

You may also receive a pension that\u2019ll you\u2019ll be able to calculate into your retirement savings. However, with that said, only about 14% of workers receive a pension so you might not have one at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Annuities are another option for providing yourself with money to cover basic living expenses and hobbies you pick up during retirement. Essentially, they\u2019re a contract you make with an insurance company that means you\u2019ll get regular paychecks from them for the rest of your life. They come in three forms: indexed annuities, variable annuities, and fixed annuities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Plan out your flexible income<\/span><\/h2>\n

Nobody can predict what life will bring down the road. As such, it\u2019s incredibly important that some flexibility is built into your retirement savings. You\u2019ll want to make sure your income is diversified so not all your retirement eggs are in one basket so to speak. It\u2019s important to have variety of income sources like stocks that can grow, steady sources of income, and general flexibility so you can withstand different life changes like a sudden health event or the need for long-term care.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, it\u2019s a good idea to <\/span>plan out a budget<\/span><\/a> so you can manage your expenses that you\u2019re anticipating along with the unexpected ones that pop up along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plan out your growth<\/span><\/h2>\n

Your retirement savings shouldn\u2019t be static. They need to be able to grow as you age. Of course, there are many factors that you should consider before deciding on the type of investment strategy you need for your retirement. It\u2019s a good rule of thumb to consider a healthy variety of <\/span>bonds, stocks, and cash<\/span><\/a> but with consideration to your financial situation overall, your tolerance to changes in the marketplace, and your time horizon for retirement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In general, when you\u2019re trying to plan out the sources of your income and plan for retirement, it\u2019s smart to talk to <\/span>a financial planner<\/span><\/a>. Not only can they help you sort through the maze of taxes and types of investment strategies you\u2019d otherwise have to parse out for yourself, they can also give you some serious peace of mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/span><\/h2>\n

Retirement doesn\u2019t have to be an intimidating process. As you start to <\/span>prepare for retirement<\/span><\/a>, it\u2019s important to set aside time to talk to a financial advisor who can help guide you and your spouse so you can enjoy a totally comfortable retirement. After all, you\u2019ve worked hard your entire life, your retirement and golden years should be spent doing what you love and pursuing new hobbies. Whether you choose a reverse mortgage, or an annuity, or a variety of different income streams, you can make your money work for you and your desired standard of living.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Planning for your retirement can be extremely overwhelming. After all, you have to figure out how you\u2019re going to live off your retirement savings for the rest of your life. How do you know if you have enough saved up? Will you be able to live according to the same standard of living you\u2019re accustomed … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “4 Ways to Optimize Your Retirement Savings”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":598,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597\/revisions\/598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}