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6 Things You Need to Do Now If You Want to Retire in the Next 5 Years
You’ve been saving for decades and the plan is to exit the workforce and settle into retirement in five years.
It’s time to make sure everything is in place and to make any last-minute adjustments to your plan.
1. Start Earning Serious Interest on Your Savings
A high-interest savings account can earn you up to nearly 2% interest and you can still have unrestricted access to your savings. The national average savings account rate is 0.06%, according to the FDIC.
This CIT Bank Savings Builder Account offers 2.45% interest as long as you deposit at least $100/month or maintain a $25,000 balance.
2. Protect Your Savings From Scammers
Financial abuse by itself costs older Americans over $2.6 billion annually, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse. The FBI warns that senior citizens are common targets by con artists because they're most likely to have a “nest egg,” to own their home, and/or to have excellent credit.
3. Think About Downsizing Your Home
The national average housing costs per year in retirement are $8,819. Multiply that by 30 years and you’ll spend an average $264,570. A recent GoBankingRates study revealed that owning a home costs an average $1,204 per month in maintenance alone. Explore downsizing options and home values in your neighborhood.
4. Pay Off Your Credit Card Debt (Or As Much As You Can)
In 2016, 60% of households headed by someone 65 or over carried some form of debt, according to the Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances. If you’re still carrying credit debt, try to increase your payments before retirement, make multiple payments per month or refinance your credit card debt.
5. Make Sure Your Will is Up to Date
Whether its distributing your assets, or even telling doctors what medical actions to take in the event you become incapacitated, your will is responsible for communicating your wishes -- even if you can't.
6. The Best Way to Make Sure You're Prepared for Retirement
Do you know enough about financial management to take care of all of your retirement planning on your own? Or do you need help from a seasoned expert?
Chances are, there are several highly qualified financial advisors in your town. However, it can be daunting to choose one.
This new tool makes it easy to find the right financial advisor for you. Now you can get matched with up to three local fiduciary advisors that have passed a rigorous screening process.
1. Simply enter your ZIP code below.
2. After you enter your ZIP code and answer a few questions about your financial goals, you can compare up to three top advisors local to you and decide who to work with.
3. Enjoy a better financial future!
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SmartAsset - copyright 2018
SmartAsset - copyright 2018
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