The 5 Most Important Retirement Income Decisions

For the vast majority of Americans in retirement, the income provided by Social Security will comprise the largest and most stable base of income derived from any single source. With this in mind, the Stanford Center on Longevity* recently published an essay about the most important retirement decisions to be made in retirement. Actuary and Consulting Research Scholar Steven Vernon comments on these key decisions for pre-retirees to enhance income security in retirement:

  1. When and how to retire (whether to work part time for a period of time)
  2. When to start Social Security benefits
  3. How to deploy retirement savings to generate retirement income
  4. Which living expenses to reduce in order to live on less income in retirement, including the cost of housing (which is often retirees’ largest living expense), and
  5. Whether to deploy home equity by realizing capital gains and reinvesting the proceeds to generate retirement income, or by purchasing a reverse mortgage

 

Read the Stanford Center on Longevity article.

*The Stanford Center on Longevity (SCL) supports research employing a cross-disciplinary approach to address problems associated with increased longevity. SCL describes its research areas as: Mentally Sharp, Physically Fit, and Financially Secure.

 


Mission helps clients realize their financial goals for retirement. For more information, please contact info@missiontrust.com or (520) 577-5559.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email