How Much Is Enough?

There are many formulas for figuring out how much money you need to retire. While thinking seriously about retirement finances is useful, for most people, these formulas may not come close to what your retirement actually looks like.

Taking Stock

To truly get comfortable with your retirement plan, the first thing you should do is thoroughly plan your retirement. Your lifestyle and length of life will be the driving factor when determining your financial needs once you’re retired. To gauge your needs, try this exercise:

Think really hard about what “retirement” means to you. Think about your bucket list, places you want to go, as well as experiences you want to have. List things or experiences most meaningful to you.

Now your future should be starting to come into focus. Extend the exercise by imagining what an average retirement day is going to be like for you. Where will you be? And with whom? Doing what?

How Much is Enough?

Once you have a fix on your future (the where, the how, the what, and with whom) it should be much easier to assign actual numbers to this lifestyle. Multiply the need by the number of years you expect to live, and you may come to a much closer estimate than any formula could provide. Throw in a little extra for increasing lifespans.

Write a brief overview of your conclusions and then schedule a meeting with your financial advisor. For more information, contact KerberRose Retirement Plan Services at (715) 524-6626 or 401kservices@kerberrose.com.

Source:

Bell, F. C., & Miller, M. L. (n.d.). Life Tables for the United States Social Security. The United States Social Security Administration. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/NOTES/as120/LifeTables_Body.html