When it comes to closing the gap in retirement savings, many of us turn to working longer as a no-brainer solution. While this can help sometimes, especially as you get closer to retirement age, there are numerous factors that can cause a need for retirement earlier than you expected.
If you anticipate dealing with an early retirement (or want to plan ahead just in case it happens), consider these tips:
Be prepared
An early retirement comes as a complete shock to most individuals, but that doesn’t mean it should be for you. Your retirement plan should always be a conservative plan that accounts for road bumps, rather than a scenario that’s only successful if every minutia is in your favor. For instance, your retirement contributions can account for some leeway in your retirement age rather than being necessary right down to the wire.
Change your lifestyle
Even if you can’t change the fact that you need to retire early, you can make some lifestyle adjustments. If your children are in college, for instance, you can see if they qualify for increased financial aid rather than dipping further into your retirement savings. Even a simple move like relocating to a less expensive area can completely offset the financial damage of a forced early retirement.
Want to learn more about preparing for an early retirement?
At LexION Capital, our wealth forecasting tools allow our clients to visualize various retirement scenarios, and we help them plan ahead for almost every foreseeable situation. Of course, this is only the beginning of the investment process; we also encourage clients to have an open dialogue so we can help them prepare for any changes in their financial life. If you’d like to learn more, please reach out to us today.
