The magic of compound interest works in your favor if you have a lot of time before you need to withdraw money from your portfolio. Each year, your investment accounts will grow even if you don’t make additional contributions, just because of compound interest. If you want to have a confident financial future, you must start saving for it today.

Your retirement plan can include different investment strategies. You may invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and even real estate. What you invest in will entirely depend on your goals. You may invest to receive regular dividends or you may invest in the growth of a company and profit when the value of the stock goes up. You can do a combination of those things as long as you know what type of income sources you will have in retirement.

When you retire, you’ll probably receive money from more than one income source. Where before you received a paycheck from one or maybe two different employers, things are a little more complicated now. Here are some potential income sources in retirement:

• Social Security benefits
• Pensions
• 401(k) or 403(b) distributions
• IRA distributions
• Annuities
• Personal investment accounts
• Cash savings

We can help you sort through your different income sources and figure out what your retirement looks like in terms of finances. Then all you have to figure out is when to play golf or visit the beach.

Everybody knows they need to plan for retirement, but few know how to go about it. We’re here to help you every step of the way. These questions below should get you started in the right direction.

How Much Money Do I Need in My Account Before I Can Retire?

People used to talk about having $1 million in their bank account before they were ready to retire. The idea was to have enough money to live off the interest alone. Times have changed. You may want more, or you may live on much less. It depends on your goals for retirement, your cost of living, whether you’ll continue working longer or work part-time, and what your lifestyle goals are. 

How Much Should I Save Each Month for Retirement?

Many professionals recommend putting away 10 to 15% of your monthly income into an investment account earmarked for your retirement. If you don’t have that much disposable income right now, it’s fine to start with a smaller amount. If you’re trying to catch up on your savings goal or have the means to invest more, there’s nothing wrong with increasing that percentage. It’s up to you.

Can I Get a Guaranteed Income When I Retire?

There are ways to receive a guaranteed income even when you retire. For example, you can convert some of your assets in your portfolio into an annuity, which will pay you fixed benefits each month. There are some variations for annuities, and we’ll be happy to discuss them with you. You’ll also receive a fixed amount of Social Security benefits once you’re of retirement age.