Retirement planning and estate planning both require careful work in advance to help you reach your goals. Most people are looking ahead for their best opportunities to support their own retirement financial needs and leave behind an impactful legacy for their loved ones. The good news is that with the right planning, you can do both.
There are many research studies attempting to uncover trends around retirement, especially what it looks like for baby boomers, the unexpected costs, and whether any previous trends are being replaced due to new challenges or goals for retirees.
Retirees who have a few different things are more likely to have a comfortable or wealthy retirement, according to a new study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Among those who are most satisfied, they showed to have a few things in common; very little debt, a clear strategy for spending down their assets and guaranteed income.
Retirees classified as affluent from the study were more likely to be totally or nearly mortgage free, whereas the retirees most likely to struggle were those with medical bills, credit cards or ongoing rental payments. The study asked retirees how they would self-select in the following categories:
- Average
- Comfortable
- Affluent
- Just getting by
- Struggling
Social security or pension and other forms of guaranteed income had a significant impact on where people were likely to place themselves in this category. Employees often leave the workforce much sooner than expected, which means you need to think about not only supporting yourself in your retirement but how this could potentially affect your estate plan.
Support your own retirement and get a strategy in place for gifting, Medicaid qualification, and other estate planning aspects by working on your estate plan.
For more information on the process of how to start creating your own estate plan, meet with a lawyer in Pasadena today.
