IN YOUR 60s: SHIFT YOUR FOCUS
Many people retire in their 60s. According to analytics firm Gallup, nonretired Americans expect to retire at age 66. That means it’s time to make some concrete plans. What was once a very vague goal starts to come into focus. When will you stop working? Do you plan to quit altogether or shift to part- time? Many retirement experts say your mental and financial well-being will benefit from the latter, if your health allows it. You’ll also want to make an income plan for retirement, figuring out how much money you’ll receive from Social Security and how much you’ll need to draw out of retirement accounts. Keep in mind that your Social Security checks will be higher for each year you delay taking benefits after you reach retirement age — increasing by as much as 8% annually — until you turn 70. Finally, many people falsely assume that they should shift their investments into cash or fixed-income on their retirement date. While you might want to move a small portion of your portfolio to safer, more liquid havens, you need your money to grow through retirement. Some financial planners recommend keeping half of your money in equity investments through retirement. An earlier version of this article misstated the IRA contribution limit for those 50 and older. The 2019 limit, including catchup contributions, is $7,000.
The article The Best Financial Advice at Every Age was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by Forbes .
ARIELLE O’SHEA is a NerdWallet authority on retirement and investing, with appearances on the “Today” Show, “NBC Nightly News” and other national media.
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