Boomer Pre-Retirees

As you near retirement, your planning needs change. You need to reassess your current situation and your goals, employ strategies to catch-up if necessary, fine-tune your insurance planning and begin to think about estate planning. In addition, you’ll need to prepare for the many important decisions that you’ll make as you retire – some of them irreversible.

Reassess your picture.

Now is the time to take a fresh look at both your current situation and at your goals and plans in retirement. Although you’ve been planning all along and keeping some general goals in mind, more than ever before, you’re now able to paint a picture. Think about how you’ll spend your time , and what your needs will be for housing, healthcare, travel, continued work, entertainment, leisure, second homes, special events and purchases and charitable bequests.

The next step is to evaluate your current financial picture versus your goals through a detailed financial plan. Then you’ll know if you’re in good shape, or if you need to do some catching-up in order to meet your goals.

Catch-up if necessary.

Once you reevaluate your plan, there are a few strategies you can put in place to help you catch-up.

• If you’re not already maximizing your contributions to your 401(k) or other employer-sponsored plan, start today.
• If you plan to stay in your home after retirement, refinance your mortgage to a new term so that the loan will be paid off before you retire.
• Fund a Roth IRA if you can. If you don’t meet the qualifications for contributing to a Roth, explore other tax-efficient savings vehicles such as annuities or tax-free bonds.
• Be sure to take advantage of the extra catch-up contributions allowed in IRAs once you reach age 55.

Take a look at your insurance.

Have you adequately provided for your family’s well-being? Is your beneficiary information up-to-date? Have you considered long-term care insurance?

Consider estate planning.

Discuss your current situation with your personal advisors such as your attorney, tax advisor and Ziegler financial advisor. Create a plan to help ensure that your wishes are carried out, your family is cared for, and you can do so in a tax-efficient manner.

Weigh your decisions carefully.

As you transition, you’ll be faced with a series of important decisions, and it’s important to do some research as it will have a significant impact on your retirement – and some choices may be irreversible. Your financial advisor can yelp you work through some of the decisions you’ll face such as:

• Do you need to reevaluate the timing of your retirement given current economic conditions?
• Should you rollover your 401(k), or should you choose to annuitize it?
• If your pension has a lump-sum option, should you take it, or should you select the traditional pension payments?
• When should you begin collecting your Social Security payments?
• How will you replace your paycheck?

Our planning services are not financial planning (unless they are specifically called investment consulting services). They do not create an investment advisory or a fiduciary relationship (including under ERISA) between you and B.C. Ziegler and Company. B.C. Ziegler and Company will prepare a financial plan at your specific request through NaviPlan.

Investment consulting services are offered at B.C. Ziegler and Company only through investment advisory programs and are not available through traditional brokerage accounts and products. Please speak with a Ziegler Wealth Management financial advisor to further discuss the differences between brokerage and advisory products offered by B.C. Ziegler and Company.