The Retirement Confidence Survey is the longest-running annual retirement survey in the nation. They recently released the results of their 2016 survey, and found that many people were not confident about their financial situation for retirement. In fact, less than 20 percent of individuals were “extremely confident” about their golden years financially.
However, that doesn’t mean you have to feel insecurity about your retirement as well. By taking some smart, proactive steps, you can better secure your financial future and become confident about it. Here are some starting steps:
Create an Emergency Fund
Another disquieting statistic is that most Americans don’t have enough in their savings account to pay for a $500 emergency. Even if you have wealth that’s being invested for retirement, it’s vital to also have an Emergency Fund in place.
By having money to smooth out those unexpected monetary road bumps, you can be confident that your retirement plan doesn’t derail when they occur. Even more importantly, you won’t have to treat a 401k like a loan, and possibly suffer severe tax penalties as a result.
Have numbers in place
The Retirement Confidence Survey also found that those who knew the exact amount they needed for their nest egg felt far more comfortable about retiring. As I’ve stated before, resorting to guesswork or rules of thumb with your retirement is usually not a wise idea because each of us has such a unique financial life.
Instead of feeling uncertainty about how much you’ll need, you should create a retirement roadmap – either on your own or with a trusted financial advisor. This won’t only make you feel more confident, but it will ensure you’re on track to meet the right retirement needs and goals.
Stress test your portfolio
Additionally, the Retirement Confidence Survey found that possibilities of future volatility and stock market downturns contributed to American’s retirement unease. By pre-experiencing your retirement in a variety of market scenarios, you can get an advance sense of how drops will affect it. More often than not, you’ll become more confident after realizing that they’re merely a blip on the long-term radar.
If you want to learn more about securing a worry-free financial future, start a conversation with us today.
