As the summer comes to an end, and vacations are over, one can start to imagine a time when work comes to an end, and enjoying your 'retirement'. The question becomes, as we get closer to that time,
"When can I retire?" That all depends on a few key factors and can be estimated and planned based on income, lifestyle, health, debt, savings, family obligations and other variables, to decide what will be enough to carry us through the golden years.
Many have a rough idea of how much income they feel they will need leave full time work and transition to a lesser role or retire completely, yet have not set aside the time to fully evaluate their income needs in retirement. Choices that may not seem to be a priority, such as how many times a month you want to golf, or what vacations will cost over they years, may in fact dictate when you decide to finally 'exit' the work world.
CALCULATING YOUR TOTAL INCOME NEEDS
A common way to calculate total income needs at retirement is to multiply your pre-retirement ( after tax) income by 70%.
This method can give you a ballpark estimate, but does not account for lifestyle choices.
For example:
w Golfing 12 times a year may cost $600.
w If golfing three times a week in retirement, from June to October, it may cost upwards of $3,000.
Which golfer do you want to be?
Specialty Wealth & Financial