Moving Words – Retirement
Timothy Brady
“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones that you did do”. – Mark Twain
You may not have given much thought to retirement. Usually, you’re too busy doing all those things you need to do as a mover to think of the future beyond the next five shipments. Whether you’re just a few years from retirement, or you’re in your twenties with a full working career in front of you, being prepared for your future is never a waste of time.
This year, 2024, might be a good place to start doing a little advance planning for you and your family.
Retirement, when it happens, is going to fall squarely on your shoulders – especially funding it. Social Security was never meant to be enough to fully support an individual, and most of us don’t want to live on bare subsistence in old age. Also, very few companies offer pension plans any more, so saving and planning for retirement is totally up to you.
So, what can you do to get an edge for yourself?
Start by figuring out how much money you’re going to need, really need, if you retire. In the past, financial advisors said you’d need less money to retire than you live on now – but that was before medical care and health insurance costs – and food prices – skyrocketed. Probably a better figure to work from is to assume you’re going to need at least two-thirds of what your salary is now. That way, if Congress quits fighting long enough to figure out some fixes for various problems, and Social Security and health care are going to be around for all of us, you’ll have a retirement target that happily gets you more than just bare-bones necessities.
Consider an additional life insurance policy, or long-term care insurance. Check the policy carefully before you purchase, though, and be sure it includes in-home care. If you’re like most people, you want to avoid going into a nursing home, and ‘aging in place’ is easier on everyone if medical care can come to your door. Find out what your state’s Medicaid policy is, too. Hopefully, you’ll never need to go on your state plan, but you should know whether all your assets must be depleted before you can sign up or what the limits are. Many changes, such as deeding your home to a child or other relative, must be in place long before need – five years seems to be the minimum in most states. Check carefully.
Are you planning on aging in place? Where’s your home located now? Are your doctor, grocery store and other services close by? What happens if you can’t drive any more? And can your home be easily modified for a walker or wheelchair? Perhaps an assisted living community would be a better choice; if so, is there another part of the country that you’d prefer to live in? Where do your favorite relatives live? The point here is to look at all the contingencies, as predicting the future is never a done deal. You may live to be a centenarian still living in your home, or something unexpected happens, and you need special care much earlier than you’ve planned.
As you age there may be a time where you require assistance in your daily life, even though most people prefer to be self-sufficient for as long as possible. However, be sure to have copies of legal documents like your medical care preferences, will and trusts, etc. In a fire-proof box. Tell a trusted family member of its location and how it can be accessed; and keep copies in your bank self-deposit box or your lawyer’s office too. And don’t forget to provide access to your passwords to your phone and computer files that may be needed as well.
Finally, let your family know if you want a funeral or just cremation; whether you have a burial plan in place already, prefer to pass away at home, or in the hospital. Hospice care is a viable alternative for many people, especially since pain management is one of its major features. Get the correct documents in order so a family member is legally able to make medical decisions for you if you can’t make them yourself.
Right now, you’re probably thinking retirement looks grim and even gruesome. But once these questions are carefully considered and answers documented, you can forget the details and paperwork, and concentrate on making your retirement some of the happiest years of your life. And isn’t that what everyone envisions when they think of ‘retiring’?
“Retirement is not the end of the road. It is the beginning of the open highway.” –Unknown
