When most people think of retirement,
they dream of a time when they’ll be free to do whatever they want, whether
it’s lounging around their homes or traveling the world. However, unless people
very carefully plan out their retirements, it often doesn’t end
up that way or at least doesn’t come quite when people expect it to.
In fact, a new report by the
Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that most workers over the age
of 50 expect to work, at least part time, until they are over 65. However,
these people tended to overestimate their retirement age since the average age
of retirement is actually 62. This means that many people don’t start
saving for retirement as soon as they should, thinking they have more years
left to work and save. This is obviously dangerous since, if retirement comes
sooner than expected, people may not be properly prepared for it and may suffer
the consequences. There
are all kinds of reasons that a person’s “working life” could be shortened,
such as buyouts, lay-offs, injury, health problems, and a lack of resources
available for transitioning into retirement slowly.
Because there is the potential for so many unexpected
things to happen, people are encouraged to begin saving for retirement as early
as possible and to save and invest as vigorously as possible. That way, they’ll
be prepared for retirement even if they end up working for a shorter time than
expected.
Another key to being able to retire worry-free is paying
off debts. Too much debt can easily eat away a person’s retirement savings,
even a sizeable savings, so it’s best to focus on paying those debts down in
working years so that they won’t be a concern in retirement.
These tips are important for everyone to follow, including both baby boomers and millennials. Millennials, surprisingly, tend to be better and more proactive about retirement than baby boomers, even though millennials have a longer time until they reach retirement. However, both generations have their faults- millennials tend to underestimate how much they’ll actually need to retire comfortably. Thus, it is wise for all people, across all generations, to start planning for retirement early, to save and invest as much as they can, and to make plans that will enable them to survive happily in any situation, even if they work less time than expected or end up needing more money than expected.
These tips are important for everyone to follow, including both baby boomers and millennials. Millennials, surprisingly, tend to be better and more proactive about retirement than baby boomers, even though millennials have a longer time until they reach retirement. However, both generations have their faults- millennials tend to underestimate how much they’ll actually need to retire comfortably. Thus, it is wise for all people, across all generations, to start planning for retirement early, to save and invest as much as they can, and to make plans that will enable them to survive happily in any situation, even if they work less time than expected or end up needing more money than expected.
Preparation is really the main key to
having a happy retirement that is everything you imagined and more.
