Retirement Planning Considerations At Every Stage of Life
Posted December 23, 2021
Would you define yourself as a Type-A person? Do you have a plan, a backup plan, and a backup plan for your backup plan? Are you the person people come to when they need something organized, done efficiently, and with every detail covered?
If this is you, you’ve likely been thinking about your retirement plan since your first day of work. But not everyone plans the way you do. And even if you are the person with a plan, planning for retirement can be intimidating.
At Thayer Financial, we are here to help you create a retirement plan that fits your needs and will allow you to live the life you want in retirement.
As part of the retirement planning process, we will identify your sources of income, look at your expenses, create a sustainable savings plan, manage your assets and assess the risks involved. Through all of these steps, we can estimate your future cash flow and help create a retirement income goal.
To learn more about how much you will need to save for retirement, check out our blog on the 25x Rule.
Based on your stage of life, you may be taking a more aggressive approach to saving for retirement, or you may just be getting your feet wet. We’ve broken down the different stages of retirement planning based on various stages of life to help you get a better grasp of where you are at or could be in the retirement planning process.
Young Adulthood (Ages 21-35)
Are you starting an entry-level job? Are you paying back student loans? People in this stage of life often do not have much money to invest in 401(K)s or Roth IRAs, but this is the perfect opportunity to make investments that will mature over time.
Compound interest allows interest to earn interest, and the more time that money has, the more interest you can make. For instance, if you can only invest $100 each month when you are 25 years old, by the time you reach 65, that money will have grown to $632,407 (assuming a 10% annualized growth rate). If you don’t start saving for retirement until age 45, you will have to save $832 every month to get to the same balance at age 65 (assuming the same returns). Start investing a little bit during this stage of life and see a little become a lot over the years.
Early Midlife (Ages 36-50)
The early midlife stage can bring a lot of financial constraints such as mortgages, kids, college payments, and so much more, but it’s also a time to start aggressively saving for retirement.
There is still time for compound interest to make a significant difference in your savings, and this is also the time to take full advantage of your employer’s 401(K) plan and any Roth IRA or IRA accounts you have.
Later Midlife (Ages 50-65)
This stage of life has many advantages, some of which are financially beneficial to you and your retirement plan! For instance, many in this stage of life will have higher salaries and fewer expenses such as mortgages, student loans, credit card debt, etc., giving you more flexibility within your budget.
Another benefit to being in this stage of life is catch-up contributions. From age 50 on, you can contribute an additional $1,000 annually to your Roth IRA and an additional $6,500 annually to your 401(K). These additional contribution amounts can help you make up for any lost time and contributions that you were unable to make in your young adulthood and early midlife stages.
Additionally, as you begin to get closer to retirement age, you’ll see the whole picture. You’ll know more about your Social Security benefits, and you’ll have a better idea of how much cash flow you will need to sustain your current lifestyle.
How Thayer Financial Can Help
No matter what stage of life you are in, it’s always a good time to start saving and planning for retirement. Thayer Financial predominately works with individuals and couples over 50 years old that are quickly approaching retirement. We continue to hone our expertise in this planning area to provide the maximum level of value for our clients. However, if you aren’t sure where to start, have questions about the right retirement planning strategy, or who to work with, our team is ready to help.
The Thayer Financial team can advise you on your retirement options and help you create a financial plan from the perspective of comprehensive financial planning to enjoy every moment of your retirement. Thayer Financial is your dedicated resource for fee-only, fiduciary advice as financial advisors in Hickory, North Carolina. Schedule an appointment or call us today.
Thayer Financial, L.L.C. (“Thayer Financial”) is a registered investment adviser offering advisory services in the State of North Carolina and in other jurisdictions where exempted. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. This website’s presence on the Internet shall not be directly or indirectly interpreted as a solicitation of investment advisory services to persons of another jurisdiction unless otherwise permitted by statute. Follow-up or individualized responses to consumers in a particular state by Thayer Financial in the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation shall not be made without our first complying with jurisdiction requirements or according to an applicable state exemption.
All written content on this site is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Thayer Financial, L.L.C., unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to other parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation.
