LifeCellar Blog: Information Security, Smart Life Management, Travel, Personal and Business Organization.

27 Jan 2012

by Kira

Career, Document Management, Elderly Planning, Financial Organization, Life Challenges, Personal Finance

old age, retirement, retiring, unemployment

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Retiring

Are you ready for retirement?

Retirement. It happens to everyone, but not everyone is prepared. We agree with Jonathan Clements, when he said,

“Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas. The goal is to enjoy it the fullest, but not so fully that you run out of money.”

He hit the nail right on the head; retirement can be a great experience, but only if it’s arranged far ahead of time, especially in terms of fiscal planning.

Here is a list of 5 frequently asked questions, and the answers we found may surprise you.

Where is the best place to retire?

According to US News, Flagstaff, Arizona falls under the top 10 most desirable locations to retire due to its consistently pleasant climate all year round, and frequent sunshine. Included into the batch are Boone, N.C, (for its mountainous landscape) and Walnut Creek in California (for its greenery – you may want to consider that retirees contribute to more than 25% of the population). Check also here.

How much of my income goes into the system?

Based on the bloggers (and readers) from Get Rich Slowly, 10% of your paycheck is sufficient, if coupled with wise investments and early saving commitment. They call 10% a “convenient financial rule of thumb,” but we’d like to think of it as financial etiquette.

Should I work after I’m retired?

This question, drawn from TIME Magazine’s Five Big Questions About Retirement, is a major concern for those retirees who feel they’ll be bored to death (knock on wood) and would like to be active – even if that means they’ll still be working.
Our input?If you honestly cannot sit still and you’re in a financially sound place, then working would be a viable option. Not only will you be active (in both a mental and physical state), but you’ll also be supplementing your retirement savings with disposable income.But if you haven’t saved enough money, then we strongly advise you work. As Urban Institute says, “Staying on the job five years longer enables the average retiree to increase annual spending 56%.” In this case, this money will be your way out from constant worry once you’ve retired (though it won’t feel like it).

What is a target-date fund, and should I get one?

According to ING Direct, a target-date fund, also known as a lifecycle fund, provides a simple pathway to retirement investing. You choose the fund in the year that is nearest to your expected retirement date. “The closer you get to your retirement date, the more conservative the fund’s investments will be.”

records 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Retiring

Now what to do with all those retirement records...

Where should I keep all of my retirement documents? There are three approaches (we urge you to do all three) to storing your retirement documents, as well as the rest of your sensitive documents.

Storing online: like many in this digital age, moving toward online storage via cloud services is practical, is becoming increasingly safer, and makes data organization, well, easier. So once those retirement documents pile up — or get jumbled in your current stack of important paperwork — retrieving your information will be quick and painless (unfortunately, this excludes body aches). We know first-hand the advantage of online storage, as our customers benefit most from easy accessibility to their online data from their phone or computer, regardless of time and place.
Retaining hard copies: though your physical copies of your retirement documents are vulnerable to fire, flood, and the rest of Nature’s fury, you can share your retirement documents with your family or businessmen without the wary eyes of hackers surfing the web.
Placing on a personal hard drive: Another route you can take is backing up scanned copies of your data on an external hard drive. So if, for some strange reason, you’ve lost your online and original documents, you’ll be saved from the anxiety of having to restore your data. If you can’t decide whether to keep your files at home, with a lawyer, or with a probate court, lend your ears to NetPlaces.

So whether you’re preparing for the days winding down to your retirement, or you’re a retiree looking for ways to improve your life at this point onward, these tips will do the job for when you no longer have one.