Thursday, March 15, 2007

Retirement At It's Best - How To Get Ready

7 Ways to Boost Your Retirement Income

Retirement contributes almost 1/3 of a person's life. It is for this reason that retirement should be given preparation and planning. Many Americans forget to save or just ignore their retirement. It’s very easy when you are young to think you have time to consider retirement later. However, the years roll by quickly and you can find yourself approaching middle age with no plan in place.

You need to start now and think of better ways to prepare for that time. It doesn’t mean that money will also retire once a person has retired. Here are some ways on how you can boost your retirement income:

1. Start saving now. It is never too late to start saving even for a little amount of money. When you save money, make it as untouchable as possible. Allocate your cash on your savings starting today and you will be surprised by the amount of money you will have by the time you retire if you start now.

2. Make a review of your finances and revise your budget. Reviewing your expenses will help you analyze where you spend your money the most. This will help you to cut your expenses and eliminate the things that you do not really need. This also teaches you on how to choose your priorities and weigh the things that really matter in your lifestyle. If golf is something that you can live without, why not allocate the money you spend on golf in your savings?

3. Review your insurance terms. Increasing your deductibles will help you cut your premiums to 20%. Do not count on Social Security or your pension plan.

4. You may want to make a quarterly payment on your taxes instead of being automatically deducted from your retirement distributions. You can also seek the help of a tax advisor regarding this issue.

5. Consider where you take your distributions. You may want withdraw funds from your Social Security first, then your taxable investments like the IRA. The main purpose here is that you should be able to cover your monthly expenses, lessen your tax fees and save as much money as possible.

6. Research investments that are intended for retirement. There are establishments that offer an investment while in retirement. You may want to get involved with with-profit bonds, stock market bonds, individual savings account, distribution bonds, and venture capital trusts.

7. Make use of your company plans. If your current company offers retirement services and then consider contributing the maximum amount. This will help you take advantage of pre-tax contributions.

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