There are a few slightly scary facts about retirement that I’d like to share with you. But – I want to dive deeper into them and show you why they matter.

1. Your retirement could be 30 years long. Let’s say you retire at 65, and you live to be 95 (which is not uncommon these days!) – that’s 30 years of living to account for in your plan. Your expenses should all be accounted for to prevent you from running out of money.

But really, what’s the likelihood of having a retirement that lasts that long? According to an article from CBS News, the odds of at least one half of a married couple living to 95 is 31%.

The odds of one half of a married couple living to 100? 10%! Granted, that article was from 2013 – but this further proves my point. Our life expectancy is getting longer and longer.

2. The average American does not have a retirement plan. They have some savings, but they haven’t analyzed how much they’re actually going to need after they stop working. Again, this ties into not having enough to cover basic needs in retirement, never mind covering wants.

I am pretty confident that most people don’t want to sit around doing nothing after they retire. They want to have a robust life, with hobbies and vacations – and people deserve that after working their whole lives!

3. According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, almost 40 million households have no retirement savings at all. I don’t have to elaborate on why that’s a scary fact.

This leads me to one last fact – this one might make you feel a little better.

4. You have control over how you retire – you just need to plan for it.

Do you find the whole concept of planning out your retirement overwhelming? If so, we need to talk about it – because it doesn’t have to be. You can grab a 15-minute spot in my calendar by calling 513-563-PLAN (7526) or going online here.

Regards,
Nikki Earley, CFP®