Retirement and Financial Planning Accounts for Nest Egg Future
Many people view retirement and financial planning as two different animals but the reality is they are both part of the same financial beast. In either case, if they are not treated properly by the time retirement age comes around, many folks will have to keep working just to make ends meet or be eaten alive by debt. Many older Americans, unfortunately did not start early enough saving for retirement, if at all and instead of looking at retirement and financial planning they were counting on retirement benefits from their job and Social Security benefits to see them through.
Many baby boomers, born during the recovery of the Great Depression refused to live in the squalor many of their parents described and with jobs bountiful and increases in wages, decided to live their life to the fullest. Very few thought about retirement and financial planning and are watching retirement come straight at them. Even knowing they may not be financially stable enough to retire at 65, they continue to play chicken with retirement racing straight at them.
With retirement and financial planning families can still have money for college as well as vacations while making sure they have money left at the end of the day to pass on to their heirs. With constantly rising costs of nearly everything increasing potential expenses upon retirement, it is never too late to put money aside for when the paychecks stop arriving.
Trying To Decide How Much Is Enough
For years, one million dollars was the target for a retirement fund and while that is a nice piece of change, depending on the lifestyle for the past few years, it may not be enough to support the family in the style in which they have been accustomed. Today’s dollar does not buy as much as it did even 10 years ago and most likely will buy even less in the next 10 or 20 years. With retirement and financial planning in place it may be possible to increase the size of the nest egg and live longer on more.
Many closing in on retirement use retirement calculators to determine how much they will need to live on, but with a couple of variables involved, finding an exact number is nothing more than a guess. Even with the best retirement and financial planning guidance, how much expenses will increase on an annual basis after retirement is impossible to calculate and how many years the money has to be available to the retiree will not be known until it is too late.
Persons in the military, especially in the reserve forces can use the income from their military retirement income to help determine their income at retirement. A reserve retirement calculator will take into consideration the number of retirement points a military member has earned through the course of their service and will ask for additional income sources to help determine an estimated income upon retirement. Most of the reserve retirement calculators used are for enlisted men, however officers to a certain grade levels can also benefit from their use.
Many things are taken into consideration with a reserve retirement calculator, but the main ingredient is the retirement points earned. Different pay grades have a different amount for each point earned and can usually be calculated online through many government sites. This information is especially useful for civilian workers who spent a number of years the military reserve. They can advise their financial planners about the income and they are generally aware of the reserve retirement calculator and can use it to figure military retirement income into the financial mix.
Many workers assumed the income from military retirement would help them lead a better life once they retired only to learn from the reserve retirement calculator that it will not as much to their total income as they anticipated.
Do Not Be Left Out Of Financial Decisions
It is common for some financial services companies to take charge of a person’s retirement fund and treat it as though it was their money. This may be OK with many on the verge of retirement, but consider that income determined by using the reserve retirement calculator will not be available until retirement, the services should not charge you for handling any aspect of that money.
In most respects, the money from military retirement is issued by the military and the retiree is unable to take a lump sum payout of the retirement account. Survivors will receive the income if the retiree passes away prior to full retirement payout. A reserve retirement calculator can be used to help determine the income of retiree survivors. Although the income indicated by using a reserve retirement calculator for military retirement income will still be part of the overall income, it is considered by some to be a bonus to their main source of income. They will use this amount to supplement their income and improve their retirement lifestyle as well as help pay for unexpected expenses.