Hi, I’m Allen Sleeman, Senior Financial Advisor with Discovery Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors.

 

So, here's the million dollar question... are you ready to retire? In this video I'll share 6 tasks you'll need

to help answer this question.

 

With so many variables to consider, ensuring you're ready to retire can easily begin to feel

overwhelming. If you’re trying to decide whether or not you’re ready to retire,

start with checking to see if you’ve completed the following six tasks.

 

 

Each of these tasks take time but completing all of them prior to retiring can help you retire with

confidence.

1. Calculate how much you need. Before retiring, you’ll need to ensure you have enough money. The

challenge is that planning for retirement requires trying to figure out what your life will look like

decades from now. A comprehensive investment plan can help make sure you’re financially prepared no

matter the circumstances.

2. Figure out your income sources. Once you know how much you’ll need, next you need to figure out

how much you can expect from fixed income sources - Social Security, pensions, etc. The gap between

how much you’ll need in retirement and the fixed income you have is the amount you’ll need to have

saved before you retire.

3. Eliminate Debt. When you live on a fixed income, any debt subtracts from money you have to live off of.

In order to make the most of your retirement, you’ll ideally want to pay off all debt, or at least eliminate as

much as possible.

4. Consider the cost of Healthcare. Medical expenses are one of the leading causes of financial setbacks

for retirees and the costs often go underestimated. You may also want to look into long-term care

insurance, which can help cover costs associated with long-term care that many health insurance plans

fail to cover.

5. Create a Contingency Plan. Before retiring, you’ll want to create a contingency plan that prepares you

and your loved ones for any unexpected events or emergencies, such as a health crisis or a financial

setback. You may feel like creating a plan for these events is premature, but that’s exactly why you should

create one now. A plan is useless if you don’t have it before the event occurs.

6. Discover Your Purpose. Retirement readiness is not just about the financials and paperwork. Before

you retire, you’ll want to discover what your purpose in retirement is going to be. Many retirees struggle

with the transition to retirement so do some soul searching here.

 

Retirement is not a one size fits all plan. What works for one person may not work for another, but all

retirement requires planning and preparation. If you’d like to discuss your retirement needs, please reach out to us by visiting our website:  www.DiscoveryWMG.com