E-Commerce
Business Article Assignment #2
Dr. Ruppel
02/18/2015
How to Make Your Income Last for Decades in Retirement This article deals with the decisions that all consumers need to make in order to ensure that they retire comfortably. The author of the article states a few steps that we need to start making now to ensure that financial security in our retirement. Step one entails identifying our needs, wants and wishes. We all need to make a plan to determine exactly what age we need to retire at and the steps we need to take in order to reach that goal. Furthermore, we need to identify the type of lifestyle we would like to enjoy during retirement. Our needs include basic living expenses such as food, transportation and medical expenses. Our wants entail leisure activities such as travel, cars, second homes, and vacation. The author describes our wishes as gifts we would want to offer to friends, family, or charity. By planning for our needs, wants and wishes, budgeting for our retirement becomes much easier. Step two is to estimate how long personal savings may need to last. The article states that estimating how long our money will last is perhaps the most vital component in retiring. It helps us make smart decisions about when to start things such as social security, pension benefits, and survivorship benefits. Moreover, creating a timeline will help us decide how to distribute your income across your retirement. We also need to take into consideration how expenses may change over time; for example how our wants may turn into needs. Step 3 is to understand Social Security and Medicare options. Although it is quite uncertain how much one can expect to receive from their Social Security income, the author states that there are different options we can consider to leverage our benefits so that they suit our situation at hand. If one plans to continue to work they should obviously expect a long retirement. Delaying Social Security up until 70 increases your benefit amount in retirement. Step four is to develop a strategy on how and when to withdraw your money from a portfolio. The article states that portfolio compositions