Retirement Planning

Planning for retirement takes time and effort. It means thinking about your priorities. Considering you future income needs. Making lifestyle choices. Deciding how to handle your estate.

The easiest way to start is by thinking about the kind of lifestyle you want at retirement. Ask yourself some basic questions such as: Will you stay in your current home? Move into a smaller home or vacation property? Will you want to travel more often? Will you more actively pursue recreational activities, hobbies or volunteer work? Do you plan to start your own business or work part time? Do you want to leave an estate for your family or favorite charity? Will you need flexible income payments?

Once you have your dream, it's time to plan to ensure you'll be able to afford your desired retirement lifestyle. A common rule of thumb is to assume that you'll need 70% of your pre-retirement income to maintain your lifestyle in retirement and your expenses in retirement, such as work-related expenses or reduction will be reduced. In addition you may no longer be supporting dependants and your residence may be mortgage-free.

On the other hand Canadians are living longer and enjoying more active retirements than generations before. In fact many people find they are actually spending more in retirement. So, depending on the questions you answered above you may want to target for a retirement income that is closer to your current income.

Once you have calculated your desired retirement income compare it to the income you are expected to receive from potential sources of retirement income. For most people there is a shortfall between what is needed and what is expected. If this is the case for you now is the time to start making you money work harder.

Call us to talk about sources of retirement income.

Contact Marlene Moore Phone (902) 442-1122 Email mmoore@sbwdirection.com