FNTN

Introduction.

With the whole country seemingly fixated by what may or may not happen regarding health insurance, a financial problem of potentially equal enormity seems to have been pushed to the back-burner, that of pension planning for retirement. It is currently estimated that only one third of the population are adequately planning for their pension, which in effect means that only one third of us are paying sufficient funds into our pension pots.

The cost of putting off pension planning.

Want to waltz your way into retirement?

The main problem with pension planning is planning for the effects of inflation, or indeed further market crashes, in years to come. What might seem adequate and a good deal now - in 20 years time might not be so good. A simple example here would be suppose you retire now at 65 on a $20,000 a year pension. You can quite realistically expect to live for another 20 years or more, but in 20 years with inflation at just 3% a year, you’ll need nearer to $40,000 to maintain your lifestyle. Add to this the fact that you may well need extra medical insurance as you get older to deal with the ailments that age can bring - and what seems like a good pension can soon look like not so good a deal. If that sounds like the situation you might be in - do discuss your pension requirements and planning with one of the reputable and professional independent financial advisors you can find on the internet, by searching for something as simple as ‘pensions advice‘.

401(k) investing.

Even if money is tight right now, avoiding providing adequately for your old age really is a false economy. So, if you’re working for a company operating the 401(k) pension scheme, start up a pension plan now. No matter how small the amount you invest in it now, it will pay dividends for you in the long run, especially if you can add catch-up contributions when you get nearer to retirement age and any financial commitments to your immediate family probably decrease. Following last years recession stocks have risen about 50% in the last eight months, so if you’re waiting for the markets to recover before starting a pension plan - you’ve already lost out on several months saving, so delay no longer and review or start your pension plan now!

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