Friday, January 23, 2009

Begin Looking at your Personal Finance and Retirement Planning

By Steven Griggs

People do not often think about retirement as there is so much else going on in their lives like; children, monthly bills, car payments, health care costs, jobs, and in that rare moment a little time for yourself. What if you could make it easier to take care of retirement saving? That would be one less worry on your mind.

There is a way to manage your retirement called a target retirement fund it is becoming quite popular, because so many people are looking to make things easier in their life and with their investments.

Needs change as inflation rises, and these factors need to be taken into consideration as your invest and save. Let's say that there is a 3% inflation rate, and the cost of living will double every 24 years or so. If you had estimated that you would need $100,000 a year to live on today, you will need more than $200,000 to live on in 25 years. Then add the increased health care costs and health insurance and you still are below what you need.

It is best for you to sit down with a financial professional to talk about the pros and cons of each fund, and then you can make an educated decision on what the best plan for you to invest in. Much of younger generation is geared towards the funds, because it is a simple way to save for retirement. Be sure to consult with a retirement planning expert to learn more about the target retirement funds.

The most important thing is that you realize that you need to start planning for retirement and put the ball in motion. Just as you take care of your personal finances such as savings and your checking account this too needs to be monitored by you. Make sure you are getting the best options on your retirement plan.

Estimate what your yearly requirement will be after retirement. This is usually between 65% to 100% of your terminal income. Calculate the yearly retirement and social security benefits you expect to use once you retire. Subtract these benefits from the yearly requirement that you calculated above.

With an approximation of the inflation rate, calculate the sum of money you will need when you retire to obtain the calculated yearly income. For this you may use a retirement calculator. If you are giving annual requirement as of date of retirement, enter the parameters for date of retirement as '0'. Otherwise, put in the necessity as of today. The calculator will include the inflation automatically. The calculator will tell you what the amount of money is that you will need to save every year so that you will have enough money to live on after retirement. You can find a retirement calculator on the Internet.

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