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.