Before You Retire, Accomplish These 6 Tasks

Are you sure you’re ready to retire? You may have a few items to address before your golden years can begin.

Calculate Your Post-Retirement Expenses

In addition to calculating how your monthly bills will line up with your projected income, you also should include all of the things you want to do once you stop working. Things like travel, hobbies, and spending more time with family are probably on many future retirees’ lists. Many things like these will cost money.

Create a Plan to Avoid a Potential Lapse in Medical Coverage.

Medical insurance is critical and only becomes more important as we get older. The Affordable Care Act dictates that if you lose your coverage for any reason other than a qualifying event, you won’t be able to get health insurance until the next annual open enrollment period. The article cautions you to make sure you don’t have a gap in medical coverage between your date of planned retirement and when you become eligible for Medicare.

Create a Plan for When to Tap Into Your Retirement Income.

Calculate how and when to access your retirement savings to create an income stream that will last the rest of your life.  This will include examining your monthly retirement budget and funding that budget with your available retirement income sources, such as Social Security, pension, retirement investments, savings, and so on. The article suggests you develop a plan to initiate all of your retirement income sources in the best possible way.

Update All of Your Estate Planning Documents.

A will, living will, and power of attorney are essential and must be reviewed for changes in your situation, like if your children are now grown and/or you have accumulated more assets. An attorney can help create or update your estate plan so that your assets pass to your beneficiaries exactly as you want and in the most tax-efficient manner possible.

Look into Tinkering with Your Life Insurance Portfolio.

When your kids are grown with families of their own, there may be less of a need to continue paying your life insurance premiums. The article says that if you have an existing life insurance portfolio that was created some time ago, make sure it’s still the right solution for you and your family.

Speak with an estate planning attorney to get more help with your retirement plans.

The attorneys at Legacy Law Group of Northern Virginia are experienced in all matters of estate planning. If you need to update or prepare your estate planning documents and require experienced assistance from expertly trained attorneys, please give us a call or email us to arrange a convenient appointment in our Manassas or Stafford offices.

Disclaimer

This blog/web site is made available by Legacy Law Group of Northern Virginia for educational purposes only, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Legacy Law Group of Northern Virginia or Vanderpool, Frostick & Nishanian, P.C. This blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state