How in the world do you determine you’re actually ready to retire? Is it an actual age? Is it a dollar amount? Or is it something else?
I personally think it’s a combination of factors, and I went over 5 of them in a recent episode of my podcast.
If you want to listen to the full thing, click here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1iF62oa4T8wAQvCWx1usSU
To give you a little preview, here are 5 essential factors I think you should be reviewing and planning for:
1. You are financially ready for it. Especially in terms of generating an income, managing any remaining debts, knowing your retirement goals, and having an idea of your retirement expenses.
2. Your money is in place for you to access it. This is a little harder to explain, but essentially I want you to have options in terms of where to distribute your money. Is all your money in tax deferred accounts? That could be an issue for you in the future, especially if taxes rise (as they are set to do in a few years). You can fix this, but time is of the essence on some of these strategies.
3. You have a healthcare plan. How will you have coverage before age 65? And when you are eligible for Medicare, what Medicare options will you select?
4. You have a plan for when (not if) markets perform poorly. What will you do when markets go down? How will you generate an income stream if you’re retired?’ Will you take too much money out of your portfolio when the market dips? If you do, how do you know your money will last as long as you do?
5. What’s your next step for your post retirement life? How will you spend your free time now that you don’t have to go into the office? What can you do that will bring you emotional and intellectual stimulation? What hobbies have you always wanted to do but never had the time for?
If you have any questions on this list, or anything else that you think should be discussed on a future episode, let me know.
Also: if you haven’t already subscribed, you can do so by searching for Retirement Clarity Radio on any podcasting platform.
Have a great week,
Scott “Podcasting Pro” Newhouse
P.S. Whenever you are ready there are 3 ways I can help you…
1 – Grab a free copy of my books on Retirement Planning at FreeRetirementBooks.com
2 – Check out my podcast, Retirement Clarity Radio
3 – Schedule a free discovery call with me at StartMyRetirement.us