Don’t Leave Your Retirement Well-Being to Chance

It's no secret the retirement security landscape looks much different today than it did even a few years ago.

We can no longer rely solely on traditional defined benefit pension plans for a stable income in retirement. This means our retirement well-being increasingly depends on our personal bank accounts and other savings, like 401ks. 

Yet despite this shift, the 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) tells us that only a little over half of workers age 50+ have tried to estimate how much they will need for retirement. Worse yet, 4 in 10 of them are relying on guesstimates. I think we'd all agree this is not a smart or effective way to plan for your future.

For most of us, Social Security and Medicare will be the cornerstones of our secure retirement. But according to that same EBRI study, older workers and retirees are not confident Social Security and Medicare will continue to provide the same benefits as retirees receive today. This lack of confidence underscores even further the importance of having a detailed personal financial plan for your retirement.

The good news is, you don't have to go it alone.

AARP’s Ready for Retirement resources were developed to help you make more effective personal retirement decisions such as determining when to take Social Security, estimating how much income you will need in retirement and developing a plan to get there. With easy to use calculators, quizzes, tips sheets and more, you can plan now for the retirement you want down the road.

Get started today!