Retirement Planning -
The Best Approach for You

A. Retirement Savings

Based on generally recognized assumptions by financial planners (consult your own for specific guidance), a person generally can withdraw 4% of their retirement savings and be reasonably certain to not outlive their savings. In this instance, retirement savings means your IRA, 401k or other qualified plans plus your taxable savings. This means that you can withdraw $4,000 / year if you have $100,000 in retirement savings.

Looking at it another way, if you earn income of $4,000 / year during retirement, it is as if you had an additional $100,000 in savings to draw from. This is a nice supplement to your retirement investment income and security.

You can work from home or at an 8 to 5 job. We now have many opportunities opening up to use the internet to make a part time or full time living. Hundreds of thousands of people are already doing it. You can too. This site is designed to help you through that process. Click here to begin your review of our Decision Tree to find your best retirement job.

The online retirement savings calculators doesn’t really seem to help that much in my opinion. There are only a few that ask for enough detail to perform calculations that give you a percentage chance of meeting your retirement goal. However, I feel one should work through several of these to get a better perspective of the range of answers available. Look at our Retirement Calculator page for recommendations on the best online retirement savings calculators.


B. Social Security

Will social security be able to survive long enough for you collect your share for as long as you were counting on? The first of approximately 78 million baby boomers are beginning to receive their payments. Whether everyone will receive their full amount over time is still to be determined.

In the meantime, you are entitled to a portion if you made sufficient contributions into the system. If you want to research more about Social Security, follow us to our Social Security Retirement Ages page and to our Social Security Administration e-Book page.
C. Cash Gifting

If you are fortunate enough to be able to consider giving funds to relatives, charities or others, then it is well worth your while to investigate all aspects of the current IRS rules on gifting. We have covered this aspect of Retirement Planning and ask you to follow us to our page on Cash Gifting.

Locational Planning

Deciding on where you will live during retirement is a major decision. It may be easy or difficult based on a number of factors. Some of the top considerations would be the proximity of family and friends. Having a strong network of friends and family has been recognized as one of the key requirements in a happy retirement.

In addition to having enough money to fund retirement and the supporting network of friends and family, good health is another element we all strive for. Determining how close you need to be to medical facilities is a key factor for your location decision.

Activity Planning

In the first phase of retirement, you may have set out some goals like traveling more or working in the garden. Once you get through those, you may feel lost. You could improve your level of happiness by a deeper involvement with your social groups, like church, hobby associations and others.

Intellectual stimulation through volunteering, travel, study and personal projects can be just what is needed to springboard your happiness. Plan to take certain actions, then be spontaneous.

One great way to get that stimulation is through the use of the internet. It has been shown that use of the internet has increase cognitive capability in seniors. Find out more by going to our Technology For Seniors page.

Keep in mind that your passion is the expressway to happiness. Check out some ideas and suggestions for fulfilling and satisfying activities at our Cool Jobs Without Pay page

For the immediate future, don't forget your retirement planning for your retirement speeches. You'll find free sample speeches for all occasions and timeless retirement speeches for gracious yet great goodbyes ... they are easily adapted and personalized - find the right words every time.



Managing Your Money

Being careful with your money can improve your financial condition is another element of retirement planning. I have come across a good website that provides many ideas to help. It is called FrugalMinded.com - Living within ones means does not mean going without. Here you will find quick and easy recipes, where to shop to get the best deals, how to decorate or repair your home, and almost everything in between so you can be living the frugal life.

You can never have enough resources. Another good one is Retirement Planning Guide: providing guidance, advice, tips, information on retirement to help you make an efficient retirement plan for yourself.


All three areas of retirement planning should be evaluated, don't just rely on crunching numbers through the retirement savings calculator.

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We have developed several areas within this site that provides resources in your search for the best retirement jobs for you, whether for income or for satisfaction. If you are looking for advice from the experts, then you must go to our Experts' books on retirement section.

In addition, few have identified several popular books in the area of planning for retirement as shown below. We hope you find them useful.

RETIREMENT PLANNING PICKS