Many people never realize how complex retirement planning can be. On today’s episode, we’ll break down a USA Today article about murky issues that can make retirement planning harder.
Americans are confused about how much income growth is needed to offset inflation. Even with normal inflation numbers, people get overwhelmed when planning for inflation. With anything, you have to look beyond today. The reality is everything moves in cycles.
If you retire and inflation is low, it’ll probably come back eventually. You want to have vehicles equipped that can help you keep pace with inflation like Social Security. Think about the long term in retirement.
Most people don’t know how much Social Security will actually provide in retirement. Social Security can be a significant benefit, representing for most people around 40% of what they’re going to need in retirement. There are a lot of planning opportunities around this.
When we sit down, we look at the benefit and see how to fit it strategically into your plan. Don’t listen to the news and don’t believe everything you hear about Social Security “going broke.” The rules are constantly changing and it’s good to work with an advisor as a way to keep up to date on the best strategy to take when it comes to Social Security.
Withdrawal rates are a mystery to most people. You have your 401(k), Roth, traditional IRA, etc. How do you use it and turn it into income? Withdrawal rates aren’t the big facts you should be looking at. Instead, you need to know what you are going to spend on a monthly basis and where that’s going to come from.
Withdrawal rates are going to look different based on your strategy. If you wait to take Social Security, they may be different than if you take it right away. Rules of thumb are great, but they aren’t going to match your plan exactly every time. Let your advisors calculate the bigger numbers for you.
USA Today Article: Retirement planning: These 3 issues are making it extra hard right now (usatoday.com)
Listen to the entire episode or skip ahead using the timestamps below.
[1:22 ]– USA Today Article
[2:37 ]– Confused about income growth
[8:14] – How much Social Security will provide
[13:23] – Withdrawal rates are a mystery
[16:29 ]– Simple approach or making a plan
A Quotable Moment:
“If you look at inflation it doesn’t sit on its own… Historically we haven’t had huge spikes like this that have extended long periods of time.”
-Phil Putney
