When you’re approaching retirement, you have to navigate an array of issues and choices. And each one plays a part in making sure that you’re fully ready to retire. In this post, I will help you answer the question of how do you know you’re ready to retire? This is part 2 in answering that question. If you haven’t already please go back and read part 1 here.
Here Are Four More Things To Consider Before You’re Ready To Retire
5. Make Sense of Your Health Care
Are you planning to retire before age 65? If so how are you going to provide health insurance for yourself and your family until you become eligible for Medicare at 65?
When you’re approaching 65, what Medicare options will you select? There are four parts of Medicare, parts A, B, C, and D. But you don’t necessarily have to use (or pay) for all of them.
If you’re looking for more information regarding your choices, you can find some details on Medicare’s website. Now I can’t tell you exactly what you should do in this blog post. But I do know it’s essential that you have a plan for your health care in retirement, as the average retired couple can expect to spend $250,000 on Medicare premiums alone in retirement.
6. Consider Long-Term Care Insurance
While it isn’t pretty to think about, if you’re 65 years or older there’s a 70% chance you’ll need some kind of long-term care services in your older years. And most people simply can’t afford to handle the expenses out of pocket, as you can easily spend $70,000 – $90,000 a year to stay in a nursing home.
Sure, your children may be able to help out around the house or pick up groceries, or other chores. But you can’t expect them to drop their 9-5 job and take care of you full time. Nor would you want them to bathe you or change you if you aren’t able to do that on your own.
And I have to warn you in advance: Yes, the premiums are a lot. But it’s simply too big, and too likely, of a risk to not share with an insurance company.
7. Figure Out When To Claim Your Social Security Benefit
Do you know what your plan is for claiming your benefits?
If you’ve worked long enough and paid into the social security system, you will be able to claim your benefits as early as age 62. If you decide you don’t want or need to take it at 62, your benefit will grow every month that you delay, up to age 70.
Before you claim your benefit, make sure it, combined with the income you’ll generate from other retirement assets, match up with your family’s financial goals.
8. Review Beneficiaries and Estate Documents
Do you know that your assets will go to where you want them to go when you’re no longer here? When was the last time you reviewed it? Has anything changed in the interim?
This is one issue that is so easy to put off, but when you do that you’re putting your family and your legacy at serious risk of not meeting your intentions. So don’t put it off any longer. If you aren’t sure everything will be distributed the way you want, get it checked with your advisor and any attorneys that helped craft your estate plan.
Retirement is one of the biggest decisions that you’ll have to ever make regarding your finances. You should treat it as such. Go through these issues ahead of time. Create a plan, and put it in writing. Make sure you’re comfortable and confident in the plan. If you do that, you’ll put yourself and your family in great shape to enjoy the rest of your life with financial peace.