An important first step in retirement planning is establishing your lifestyle income requirement during retirement. Do you want to retire early, travel, pay for a child’s wedding, have a winter home? Defining your personal economic model that considers factors including budget, debt, potential earnings, pension and/or retirement accounts such as 401(k), 403(b) or IRAs, and anticipated social security income will be an important exercise. We will then help you gain understanding of ways to protect your future and plan for retirement, which may include the following: delaying social security to maximize income, long- or short-term disability planning, long-term care planning, tax-efficient strategies, and wealth transfer strategies.

Certainly the earlier one starts to save and build a retirement plan the better. For example, the cost of buying life insurance goes up as you age and investment gains generally grow over time. If you are approaching age 50 without any solid retirement plans, now is the time to have a sense of urgency and get started establishing your personal retirement goals. Whatever stage of life, understanding strategies to secure future income and plan ahead for the unexpected will provide a foundation for transitioning successfully to retirement and greater peace of mind.

During working years many people are accumulating retirement savings in tax-deferred accounts such as 401(k)s or IRAs in which earnings are not taxed every year. When you retire and begin withdrawing money, those taxes are due in that year. LOK Financial Group can help you identify strategies to prepare for future withdrawals/required minimum distributions (RMDs) and minimize risk.

When planning your retirement, LOK Financial Group retirement specialists can provide personalized advice to help avoid pitfalls and manage risk. Whether it’s guaranteed income, cash flow planning, pension planning, retirement planning, insurance review, legacy planning, health event planning or a greater understanding of how your retirement comes together, we would be honored to help prepare you for the future.