The Evolving Landscape of Retirement

The notion of retirement is still a relatively new one in human society, and the ways that we define retirement are continuing to change at a relatively quick pace. No longer can a person just prepare a simple retirement plan when they first enter the workforce, then just work to follow through on plan without revisiting or readjusting it along the way.

Every individual needs to make themselves familiar with the various trends and developments that are occurring in the marketplace.Here’s a sampling of some of the current retirement planning issues that you should consider when creating and updating your own personal retirement plan.

• Employees Can’t Always Control Their Work Situation. The realization that the Social Security the retirement benefits system won’t provide most individuals with enough to live on during retirement, combined with most employers doing away with traditional defined benefit plans, has led many to bridge their anticipated financial gap by planning to continue working into their retirement years.
• Fraud. With current retirees unable to generate much income from safe investments such as bank CDs or government securities, many will explore non-traditional investments as a way to help them pay for retirement. This opens the door for an increasing number of fraudsters to pitch risky and untested investment opportunities, and the trend has continued to become more of an issue in recent years. Be sure that you take a very close look at any investment you’re considering making, and to consider enlisting the help of a trusted financial professional.
• The Increased Need For Long Term Care. Life expectancies continue to creep upward. Unfortunately, these increases don’t always correspond to good health. Numerous studies have found that a the typical 65 year old couple can expect to pay well over $250,000 in out of pocket medical and health-related expenses over the remainder of their lives.
• The Rise in Alzheimer’s Related Issues. Alzheimer’s Disease in becoming more prevalent in retirement-aged individuals. This can not only create a greater need for long term care, but it also requires a greater degree of involvement in the affected individual’s personal financial matters by that person’s spouse or loved ones. New retirees would be well-advised to create wills, medical directives, powers of attorney and similar legal and financial documents, to eliminate any uncertainty as to their wishes if they should ever fall ill.
• The Do-It-Yourself Mindset. Whether it’s fear of fraud, the desire to save on fees, confidence in one’s investing abilities, or some combination of other factors, many are approaching retirement with a do-it-yourself mindset. There are plenty of high quality financial tools and services available to help you with your retirement plan. Just be sure to choose wisely, and remember that low fees should never be your sole basis for choosing one option over another.

By keeping these emerging trends in mind, you can be confident that you’re doing everything you can to ensure your retirement success.