Can I afford to retire?

Answer:

Retirement is a dream for many people.

Everyone’s situation is different, but the one constant need that everyone has during retirement is income. The decision as to whether or not you can afford to retire is a function of how much money you need to survive comfortably versus how much retirement income you can expect to realize when the time comes to make a decision about retiring.

When you are thinking about whether or not you can afford to retire, you have to look at many different factors. How much money will you need each month in order to live comfortably in retirement? Will social security still be available when you are ready to retire? How much can you expect to receive from social security during your retirement years? Is the retirement income you can expect to receive from your retirement plan or other investments sufficient to meet your monthly living expenses for the rest of your life? Do you even have a retirement plan? What is the best estimate of your life expectancy?

These are scary questions for many people, yet they are important questions to consider when trying to decide if you can afford to retire or not. You also have to think about what retirement means to you. Some people see retirement as an opportunity to start a new part-time career. Others view retirement as an extended vacation that involves traveling the world in a recreational vehicle on a full-time basis. Still others view retirement as a very long golf game. Your desired retiree lifestyle will definitely have an impact on if and when you are able to retire.

Several retirement calculators are available online at Yahoo! . These free tools can be very useful for helping you calculate how much money you will need to retire, your current cash flow situation, and the long-term implications of starting to save for retirement now versus later. Using a financial calculator tool can help open your eyes to many of the issues you need to consider before you can fully understand the financial implications of retirement. The sooner you take a long, hard look at these issues, the sooner you can take proactive steps toward making changes that will help you achieve your ultimate goal of a comfortable and enjoyable retirement.

Contact a local Investment Adviser with your retirement goals.