Hello, everyone. This is Roger Brooks from Strategic Investment Management. Today, I want to talk about retirement planning.
Many people have been taught to think of retirement as an age. But really, it’s a funding challenge. It’s about knowing how much you need to live the life you want for several decades. Your retirement income goal is the amount of money you’ll need to retire comfortably and stay retired.
So, how do you figure it out? Here’s a simple way to start:
Step 1: Estimate your annual expenses in retirement.
Step 2: Subtract any reliable income you expect, like Social Security or a pension.
Step 3: Multiply the gap by 30.
That’s a basic way to apply the 4% rule, which suggests that retirees can withdraw 4% of their initial retirement savings in the first year, with the expectation that that money will last for the next 30 years.
But remember—it’s just a starting point.
Your retirement income is shaped by your lifestyle, your goals, and even your retirement age. Want to travel more? You’ll need more. Planning to retire early? That increases how long your money needs to last. And don’t forget health care costs or inflation.
The truth is, most people aren’t prepared to retire. They don’t track their spending, underestimate how long they’ll live, or wait too long to build a plan.
But here’s the good news: you don’t have to guess. And you don’t have to plan alone.
At Strategic Investment Management, we help people estimate their retirement income and build a plan to reach it with confidence. The sooner you know it, the better prepared you’ll be to enjoy your ideal retirement lifestyle.