Preparing for retirement

January 31, 2019

Welcome to the OH MY GOODNESS, I’M (ALMOST) DONE WORKING years! Pretty exciting, isn’t it? Now is the time to make sure you have everything you need to easily transition into retirement. This includes budgeting your income and expenses, topping off any RRSP contributions, and working out a strategy for living off the income you have set aside.

To make sure you can retire when and how you want, follow our handy checklist, and you’ll be sailing off into the retirement sunset before you know it.

Assess 

One of the first things you can do in preparing for your retirement is to review your portfolio and evaluate how much you have saved. Look at your investments, and ask yourself if you need to save more. You may also want to assess your investment plan, and perhaps choose to invest in lower risk options.

Determine

The next step in getting ready for retirement is to make a budget of your monthly expenses. Make sure to budget for everything including housing expenses, car payments, food, clothing, monthly gym memberships, and entertainment costs. This will help you prepare for living on a fixed income. And, lucky for you, if you’re a beginner at budgeting, we have the perfect post for you.

Plan 

Once your budget is in place, take a few minutes to create an income plan. This can include your employee pension, Canadian Pension Plan, Old Age Security payments, and RRSPs. Once this is prepared, think about when you will start receiving these payments, how much you will receive each month, and then compare this to your retirement expenses.

Review

Finally, before you retire you’ll want to review your insurance coverage and health benefits, and ask yourself how you will pay for things like dental check-ups, prescriptions, and other health expenses. You should also consider reviewing your life and disability insurance coverage, because if something were to happen to you, you’ll want your loved ones to be taken care of.

Questions? Get in touch today to discuss retirement!