They say that retirement should be viewed as a new life adventure. But it is really a budgeting lifestyle for post-working life.
And there are a lot of considerations to make when budgeting a lifestyle in retirement.
For one thing, people are living longer than ever now due to advanced medical breakthroughs and healthier living standards. Although the average person lives to be 80, many people today are living well into their 80s or 90s.
Even the Social Security Administration concurs. According to the administration’s own data, the average 65-year-old retiree will probably live well into their mid-80s.
Living longer
That means before retiring, you should consider the fact that you will need a retirement fund that will last for at least 20 years. Or you may run the risk of outliving your own retirement.
Efficient retirement living requires a retiree to strategically withdraw funds on a predetermined basis. A shocking 44% of Americans between the ages of 40 to 79 withdraw from a retirement fund early or regularly.
Withdrawing from a retirement fund early can result in a 10% penalty fee. Withdrawing also reduces the amount of money invested and needed for retirement, defeating the purpose of investing in the first place.
The point is that there are a lot of things to consider before retiring, considerations you should undertake with a financial advisor.
Another consideration to make is that delaying retirement as long as possible could be good for your health.
Warding off dementia
According to a recently released scientific study, waiting to retire by age 67 or later could help a retiree retain as much of their mental acuity as possible.
The study was conducted by the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Researchers used the data of 20,000 American research participants between the ages of 55 to 75.
While most of the participants were still employed or working part-time, about 45% were retired.
The researcher then used questionnaires and various statistical methods to calculate what would happen if all study participants were forced to retire by age 67.
The study showed that adults could potentially retain more of their cognitive abilities by delaying retirement as long as possible.
Additionally, delaying retirement allows you to save more money for retirement if you live a long life.
