Have dreams about retiring early? We have some tips on how to make that dream a reality.
According to the Michigan Association of CPAs, retiring early takes meticulous planning and more than a tidy sum of money, but for the truly committed, early retirement is possible. Here is what you need to do if you desire an early escape from the work world.
Envision Your Retirement Years—One of the biggest challenges that retirees face is determining how much they need to save by the time they hope to retire. The further away you are from retirement, the more difficult the task. CPAs and other experts say you need somewhere between 70% and 80% of your pre-retirement income to maintain your standard of living. This rule of thumb is helpful for starters, but it doesn’t consider that the amount of money you’ll need in future years depends, to a great extent, on the retirement lifestyle you plan to lead.
Make The Most of Retirement Savings Opportunities — Perhaps the best way to prepare for an early retirement is by taking full advantage of 401(k) plans or other employer-sponsored, tax-deferred retirement plans. These plans make it possible for you to invest pretax money for retirement directly from your paycheck and, as an added bonus, many companies will match part, or even all, of your contributions.
If you’re self-employed, you can create your own retirement plan by opening a Keogh account. Even if you work for another company and are covered by a retirement plan, you can use a Keogh plan to shelter self-employment income you may earn from consulting or freelance work.
Traditional and Roth IRAs offer additional opportunities to build your retirement nest egg. Eligible workers can contribute to an IRA even if covered by a 401(k) at work. In certain cases, your IRA contribution may be tax deductible and, in all cases, there is no tax on earnings inside an IRA until the money is withdrawn.
Reduce Expenses to Build a Surplus — Retiring early is an aggressive act that requires not only intense saving, but a serious willingness to live below your means during the wealth accumulation phase of your life. Are you willing to replace expensive restaurant meals with dinners at home? Are you ready to lower your housing costs by trading down to a smaller home? The more fat you can trim from your budget, the more you can invest toward achieving early retirement.
Become an Astute Investor — It’s important to be vigilant about the allocation of the assets in your investment account. The biggest mistake you can make with retirement savings is to play it too safe. The longer you have before you retire, the more you should invest in stocks which offer growth potential. Stocks may be considered risky because they are more volatile in the short term but, over time, stocks typically outperform other investments. Your challenge is to achieve a reasonable balance between risk and reward.
Consider Your Future Insurance Needs — Right now, you probably have health, disability, and life insurance coverage under your employer’s group policy. In fact, your employer probably pays some of the cost of this coverage. When you retire, at the very least, you will need to replace your health insurance with a new policy that will carry you to age 65 when Medicare kicks in.
Enlist Help — Retiring early necessitates far more than a desire to call it quits before reaching your normal retirement age. It requires a knowledgeable look at the lifestyle you envision and the resources you have to fund your future. A CPA can be a valuable resource for would-be early retirees. He or she can help you work out a spending and investment plan that considers your retirement goals, current resources and investments, and future sources of income, as well as taxes, inflation, interest rates, and other components that factor into your plan. The sooner you make an appointment with your CPA, the sooner you’ll be on your way to achieving early retirement.
This article was submitted by the Michigan Association of CPAs.
