Just like everyone else out there, you too perhaps have thought of enjoying a happy, blissful retirement along with your spouse. Just like your childhood days, retirement can also prove to be a glorious time of your life.
Days of free structure, no set rules for sleeping and waking up, and the freedom to go for vacations whenever the deal or mood strikes instead of begging for leave from office are what retirement actually means.
But what if you still remain dependent on people even in retirement, at least financially?
A majority of people lowball what they need to do financially, mentally and emotionally to prepare for retirement, and unfortunately, become dependent on their kids late in their lives.
Here are four signs that your kids need to take care of you in retirement.
Read more: Retirement savings or kids’ college fund - Which one should be your priority?
1. You haven’t chalked out a financial plan yet
If you want a blissful retirement, you need to plan early. However, though retirement planning is something that many people don’t assume. Do you have an answer if I ask you how much money you’d need every month to live on?
You need not be uncomfortable if you don’t since there are millions just like you. However, if you don’t determine your living costs during retirement, you can’t expect a comfortable retirement.
You should first list your needs during retirement - like food, utility, and mortgage, and then include the costs for your wants. Once you’re done with these, you need to determine an amount of regular income that you’ll need to meet your retirement needs and wants.
A majority of people plan to retire without estimating their retirement income that they’d receive from their Social Security payments, pension, investments, and from other sources.
2. You’ve been struggling for long
Almost a third of the baby boomers admitted that they find it difficult to come up with their mortgage or house rents. Interestingly, a majority of the baby boomers who are already struggling hope to retire soon. They believe they’ll find a way to get by.
However, once these baby boomers stop working, they find it really hard to meet their expenses. According to the Nation Council of Aging, one-third of the baby boomers finds no money left after paying for their monthly household expenses.
If you are struggling with your household expenses now when your monthly earnings are at its fullest, how will you cope with the expenses after retirement when you live on less income?
If you want to retire soon and happily, perhaps this is the time you should start cutting back on unnecessary expenses and save more for your retirement.
However, avoid schemes that allow you to retire now but make you take drastic steps like selling your home or getting a reverse mortgage. The best policy is to make changes in your saving strategies so that you can have a comfortable retirement.
Read more: Should you discuss your financial struggles with your kids?
3. Are you still in debt?
Do you want to live debt-free in retirement? In that case, you need to take care of your debts now.
Many people live without any idea about how much they actually owe. All they know is their bills are within manageable limits.
Unfortunately, many feel that they will be able to make the payments comfortably once they retire. Are you one of them? Do you really want to make payments towards your debts after you retire?
Ideally, one should keep working until his/her debts are fully paid. Credit card balances, car loans, and hefty mortgages are simply headaches that you won’t want to drag into retirement. If you do, these are definitely going to put immense strains on your finances, especially if you’re living on a fixed income.
See more: Pre-retirement blunders
4. Have you assessed your portfolio?
Your portfolio is an important part of your financial planning since it’ll largely control your financial well-being when you’re retired. Hence, reassessing it is a significant part of your retirement planning.
According to most industry advisors, a majority of people in their early to mid-60s never adjusts their portfolios to reduce risk as they approach retirement, and this can prove to be catastrophic.
Investment portfolios often get hit due to ups-and-downs of the market. However, few people keep track of this due to a passive approach to investing, and come to know when they’re about to retire - or worse, after they retire.
Before you retire, you need to have a clear idea about your investments and if they are sufficient to provide you with the very income you need during retirement.
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