Does Your Life Include a RIPE Plan?—Planning Tips for Retirement, Investing, Protection, and Estate Planning – Part 1 (Retirement) by: Janet L. Hall

No matter what your age or years of work, it’s almost never too late to start planning for your retirement. As a matter of fact, the younger you are, the less chance you will have of becoming destitute, or a * bag * person. I’m not trying to be funny, it can happen to you if you don’t watch what you are doing and PLAN for the future.

Ponder for a minute on the questions below:

~~ What kind of life do you want in your * golden years *? ~~ How will you use your retirement time, meaning, what activities, interests, or travel might you want to pursue? ~~ Will you need or want to change your housing and lifestyle completely or do you hope you can * stay where you are, doing the same things you’ve always done *? ~~ If you are planning on living in a different area, what are the standards of living in that area OR what are the chances of the standard of living increasing or decreasing where you are currently living? ~~ How might your health affect your retirement? ~~ Will you need to continue to work part-time after retirement to * make ends meet *? How will that affect your benefits? ~~ Do you want to start your own business, many people do after retirement, and how will that affect your benefits? ~~ What * support * systems do you have or need to have in place?

If a company employs you, you need to FIND OUT:

~~ if they have a retirement plan (benefits), such as a pension or 401(k) ~~ what your TOTAL monthly or lump sum disbursement will be ~~ how much you can contribute ~~ length of service required to be eligible to collect benefits ~~ age required to be eligible to collect benefits ~~ if the plan will meet your needs/lifestyle after retirement

Take the time and schedule an appointment with your employer’s * benefits person * and discuss YOUR retirement plan. Ask them about YOUR Statement Of Accrued Benefits (SAB). This is YOUR personal account and will tell you the benefits you can expect based on your salary and retirement time.

If you’re self-employed, as many of us are, you need to establish your own retirement plan. The easiest plan is an IRA at which you can only contribute $2,000 yearly. If you’re young (years away from retirement) check out a non-deductible Roth IRA. Other plans include SIMPLE, SEP-IRA, and Keogh Plan. If you want to learn more about these plans, check our Reviews section near the end of the newsletter.

Please don’t think you can live on Social Security (in the USA) alone! If you have no idea what you MIGHT have already accumulated into Social Security, FIND OUT! (Link for SSA in Reviews section)

WARNING and a TIP: Just when you thought you were covered! One thing that can zap you financially is a divorce (I hope this never happens to you) and your pension plan could be one of your largest assets to be DIVIDED up (I’ve seen this happen). SO, if you’re married, I sincerely hope you stay so happily and forever after!

Smiles, not Piles, Janet L. Hall Professional Organizer, Author, and Speaker http://www.overhall.com "If your current systems aren't working for you... get an "OverHall"!"

The Organizing Wizard, Janet L. Hall, is a Professional Organizer, Speaker, and Author. She is the owner of OverHall Consulting, and Organizing By Phone. Subscribe to her FREE organizing newsletter at http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm or visit her web site at http://www.overhall.com

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