How to Make the Most Out of Your Retirement Savings

Entering retirement can be as satisfying as it is scary. You've saved your whole life for this time, but many retirees are left wondering if it will be enough? To help make sure you can maintain a comfortable lifestyle throughout retirement, it’s important to stretch your retirement dollars as far as possible. To help you make the most out of your retirement savings Tribute Homes, one of the largest active adult community developers in Carolinas, has put together this list of important tips to keep in mind before and during retirement.

Develop a budget and stick to it!

Once you enter retirement your income and expenses change significantly, and you need to sit down and develop a budget to reflect those changes. Start off by entering in your, and overestimate them. This will help you trim some fat if you discover your budget isn't feasible. Major ticket items like your mortgage payment, health insurance premiums, and other recurring expenses should be accounted for first. You can then add additional expenses, like food and clothing, entertainment, travel, utilities, and other. Next, you’ll factor in your income and then revisit your expenses. A vacation home in an active adult community may be affordable than you think if you cut back your travelling; it just depends on what you and your family wants. Keep in mind that a budget isn't set in stone; it’s better used as a helpful planning guide for long term planning.

Adjust Your Investment Portfolio

When you first started saving for retirement, your risk profile was much different. Simply put: you had more time to ride out the ups and downs in the equity markets and other riskier investments. Now that you’re counting on the money you saved to live on, you’ll want to start moving those fund into more conservative investment vehicles like cash, bonds, and annuities. The sooner you can start planning for retirement, the better prices you’ll be able to liquidate your existing positions at. A qualified financial adviser will be able to assess your individual situation and develop with a plan that works best for you.

Minimize Your Taxes

Taxes can take a major bite out of your retirement savings, and you’ll want to minimize your tax bill as much as possible. One way to minimize your taxes is to focus on reallocating investments in your tax deferred retirement accounts first. This will help minimize any taxes due on realized gains. In the same vein, selling investments that you've lost money on in a taxable account will also generate valuable tax shields for gains withdrawn from tax-deferred accounts later on. A professional tax adviser or financial adviser will be able to help you keep your tax bill as low as possible.

Generate Additional Income

Being retired doesn't mean you have to stop working entirely. In fact, many retirees find that starting their own small business is a great way to fill their time and generate additional income. Think about it: if you can minimize withdrawals from your retirement account by as much as $10,000 for 10 years, it’s the equivalent of having saved an additional $125,000 (assuming a 5% annualized return).

There are lots of books and other resources (almost too many) that go into more detail for helping you get the most out of your retirement savings, but the above tips provide a good place to start when planning for retirement. 

Many new and prospective retirees find that moving into an active adult community, like the ones developed by Tribute Homes, is a great way to stay active and socialize with other like-minded adults. Whether you dream of retiring in a golf course or lakeside community, Tribute Homes has a number of developments to fit your lifestyle. To learn more about Tribute Homes’ active adult communities in South Carolina visit us online at www.tributehomesusa.com or call us on the phone at 800-381-2984. We look forward to making your retirement dreams come true.

Importance of Staying Active During Retirement

Earlier in life, you may have envisioned yourself lounging around, carefree throughout your retirement days—not really doing much to speak of. However, this is not the path taken by most retirees, and it’s certainty not the healthiest way to spend your time. Indeed, staying active during retirement helps you live a longer, healthier, and live a more fulfilling life than you would watching daytime television. Retirement is a new beginning—a time to grab life by the horns and live out your dreams. After all, you don’t have to worry about the morning commute anymore.

To better help you understand the importance of staying active during retirement, Tribute Homes has put together a list of the top benefits associated with living an active lifestyle.

Staying active during retirement is good for your brain

There are a number of studies that have found that physical activity helps reduce your risk of cognitive decline, Alzheimer disease, and dementia of any type. Maintaining healthy cognitive functioning is essential to living an independent lifestyle in your later years, and the good news is you don’t have to run a marathon to qualify as staying active. Simply going on an evening walk with your spouse, playing golf, tennis, or swimming all help keep your brain healthy as you get older. Even if you think you are years away from having to worry about cognitive problems, it is often said than an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Getting yourself into healthy habits will make it easier to stay active as you get older, and it’s never too soon (or too late) to start.

Staying active during retirement is good for your physical health

In addition to keeping your brain healthy, living an active lifestyle during retirement is also good for your physical health. Some of these benefits include: maintaining a strong and healthy heart though cardiovascular activities; keeping your muscle toned; keeping your bones strong; and maintain a healthy weight. Physical activity also reduces your risk of a number of illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. 

Staying active during retirement is good for your emotional health

A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that physical activity reduces the risk of subsequent depression for older adults. In addition to increasing your life expectancy, physical activity also helps you live happier. When you exercise, your brain releases endorphins, which are a chemical associated with happiness and an overall sense of well-being. In addition to making you feel better on the inside, staying active also gives you more opportunities to stay engaged with friends and family. Golf outings, tennis matches, and water aerobics are all great ways you can stay active while having fun. Which leads us to our last point….

Staying active during retirement is fun

If you were very active before retirement, chances are you already know that being active is fun. However, if you’re looking to start new habits, the best way to do it is to start off slow. The worst thing you can do is overwhelm yourself by trying to do everything at once, only to get disinterested and talk yourself out of continuing your goals later on. Social sports, like some of the ones discussed above (Golf, Tennis, Water Aerobics) are all great ways to have fun, and if you’re having fun then you’re more likely to continue those activities. It’s win-win situation!

To help you stay active during retirement, Tribute Homes has developed a number of active adult communities in South Carolina with tons of amenities to make sure you’ll always have something to do. Some of these amenities include recreational facilities, golf courses, pristine lakes for boating and fishing, and more. To learn more about Tribute Homes’ offerings, visit us online at www.tributehomesusa.com or call us directly by phone at 800-381-2984.

Why you need to start preparing for your retirement now

With retirement just around the corner for many baby boomers, the time to start preparing for your retirement is now. You've worked hard your whole life for this moment, and you need to make sure that all your ducks are in a row so you can live the retirement lifestyle you've always dreamed of.  To help make sure your retirement is everything you've hoped for, Tribute Homes, a new home builder specializing in active adult communities throughout the Carolina, has put together this article explaining the importance of preparing for your retirement now.

Determine what kind of retirement lifestyle you can afford

One of the trickiest aspects of transitioning from working full time to retirement is the idea that you’ll be living off of your savings. While everyone’s retirement picture is different, there are some guidelines that most financial advisers recommend when planning for retirement. 

First, you’ll need to figure that you’ll only be living on 70 to 80 percent of your pre-retirement income. Since you won’t be commuting, and won’t need to regularly replace your work clothes, this reduction in income is somewhat offset by a reduction in your work-related expenses. Additionally, you’ll want to be sure that you don’t outlive your retirement savings, so you should overestimate the number of years you’ll require an income.

Once you know how much income you have to work with, you can start to figure out the lifestyle you can afford, i.e., develop your retirement budget. Ask yourself questions like: Do you want to buy a second home, or move into a retirement community? How often do you plan to travel? How will you deal with unexpected medical expense? Are you still providing financial support for your children? All of these are good questions to start thinking of now. If you find that your budget isn't balancing like you hoped, it’s easier to make adjustments before retirement — while you still have time to adjust — than to wait until you’re already living off your retirement savings.

Avoid penalties on your retirement savings

Some retirement accounts have minimum required distributions that you have to make to avoid incurring penalties. For example, as of 2012, IRAs require that you begin withdrawing money when you reach the age of 70.5 at a rate of roughly 3.6 percent per year. You’ll also want to sit down with you financial adviser to discuss how you should start re-balancing your investments as you get closer to retirement. You may be able to avoid capital gains taxes, or otherwise maximize your total account value by making adjustments early on. You don’t want to get into a situation where you’re forced to liquidate assets at less-than-desirable costs or penalties. 

Plan for major purchases and expenses

Many retirees choose to move into an active adult community, or buy a vacation home to spend part of the year at. Planning for major purchases well-before you enter retirement will help you determine the timing of certain expenses to make sure you can comfortably afford these purchases. You’ll also want to plan for health care costs, which are increasing at a rate of approximately 6 percent per year. You may be shocked to learn that a 62-year-old couple that lives to 92 years old will spend approximately $400,000 in health care costs (excluding long-term care costs). You can read more about health care costs during retirement here. 

While there are plenty of other good reasons to start planning for your retirement now, they all come to the same conclusion: it’s better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.

If you’re considering moving to an active adult community, you should consider one of Tribute Homes’ new home developments in South Carolina. We've built everything with the active adult in mind, and we know you’ll love the time spent on the lake, playing golf, or relaxing with your new friends. To learn more, visit us online at www.tributehomesusa.com or call us directly at 800-381-2984.

Benefits of Living in an Active Adult Community

You may have some misconceptions about living in an active adult or 55+ community, and we're here today to dispel those beliefs. The truth is, more and more recent and soon-to-be retirees are finding that living in an age-restricted, new home development is almost like going back to college. Active adult communities share many of the same characteristics with the college experience: a community of like-minded individuals entering a new stage in their life, a sense of energy and excitement about the possibilities, and a population with a lot of spare time on their hands for recreational activities. Tribute Homes is one of the largest new homebuilders in the Carolinas, and has a number of wonderful active adult communities throughout South Carolina. To help you better understand some of the benefits of living in an active adult community, we’ve put together a list of some of the top reasons you should.

Social Benefits

Perhaps the biggest benefits of living in an active adult community are social, namely the possibilities of making new friends. With most of the residents being in the same stage of life as you, you’ll find that you all have a lot in common. Active adult communities, such as the ones developed by Tribute Homes, often feature an amenities center or clubhouse as the residents call it. This provides a central location to mingle with neighbors and stay engaged with the community.

Emotional Benefits

Living in a community with neighbors going through the same stage of life can provide a lot of needed emotional support. You’re likely to find a neighbor or friend in the community who had to deal with similar issues as you, whether it’s related to health, finances, or adjusting to the new pace of life you’ll find comfort in sharing your experiences with people who have been there.

Designed Specifically For You

Tribute Homes creates each one of its active adult communities for a specific type of person. Whether you prefer golfing, lakeside living, or both, Tribute Homes’ active adult communities provides you with all the ingredients to enjoy yourself to the fullest. Additionally, all the community amenities and floor plans are hand selected to fit the needs of an active adult. It’s like living in a resort made just for you!

Safety and Security

All of our communities are designed for active adults ages 55 and over, which means you won’t have to worry about the neighbor’s kids throwing loud house parties. And since all of our new construction homes come with a 10-year structural warranty, you’ll sleep better knowing your home is safe and protected from structural and mechanical defects. Additionally, all of Tribute Homes’ communities are nearby major cities, so you’ll have quick access to some of the best health care facilities in the state.

Residents who move into active adult communities all do so for different reasons, but they all share one thing in common: a desire to continue living an active, healthy, and fun retirement lifestyle. To learn more about what makes living in Tribute Homes’ South Carolina active adult communities so great, visit us online at www.tributehomesusa.com or get in touch with us directly on the phone at 800-381-2984.