How Do I Create a

Retirement Income Plan?

Brady Speers

• Proper income planning is one of the most crucial pieces

of any solid retirement plan

Before one can start the journey of retirement, an income

"road map" needs to be laid out to ensure the trip into the

best years of life are financially as stress free as possible

Studies have shown that retirees worry the most about not

having enough money to live on as they get older and

with more and more people living into their 90s it

becomes even more critical to plan accordingly

• The irony however, is the fact that so many

people enter retirement without a properly laid out

structured income plan

An income plan can be as complicated or as simple

as one desires, but either way, it is something that

needs to be created

Below are five key aspects a good retirement

income plan will address and focus on

• Once you decide to officially retire more than likely your active income sources (meaning job) will stop almost

immediately

This creates an obvious income gap

Income gaps are times in which cash flow has decreased from previous levels and there is a sudden shortage in the

amount needed to pay the bills and live life as is

For most people these occur when paychecks cease, an annuity runs out, dividends cease, or incomes stop due to the

death of a spouse

The funds you have saved for retirement should be used solely for these gaps

However, there are certain ways in which you can maximize the value of these funds when covering those gaps

Merely pulling the funds out of the bank or investment accounts may not make the most sense. Have an analysis done

that can help you determine which way is the most cost effective way to fill in the gaps

Income Gaps

• When doing income planning it is vital that you consider purchasing power and

the effect inflation will have on your ability to maintain the lifestyle you desire

Normal inflation runs around 2%, but everyone knows our normal expenses in life go up

by more than 2% a year these days

Consider if we have a period of hyper-inflation and the numbers could be even worse

Make sure your income plan is designed to include rising income payments or

periodically gives you income increases to offset and counter inflation

Flat income plans may look good initially, but remember, you could live another 20, 30 or

even 40 years from the day you retire!

Inflation

• You have spent your entire life saving and growing money for this point in your

life - retirement

Now is not the time to take big gambles on the market

Another large market correction could reduce your nest egg by thousands of dollars

and for most people that would be catastrophic for many reasons

One being the time it would take to recover such losses and two being the fact that you

may no longer have an active income stream from a job with no ability to re-

grow savings lost in the market

Focus on making sure your nest egg is protected inside safe-money concepts

Safety of Funds

• Nothing is scarier than thinking about outliving your money, but today's market place

includes financial products that can contractually guarantee that this won't happen

Indexed annuities might not be considered a good growth investment by many, but they are

absolutely the best way to protect your funds from downside loss, give you respectable

growth, while at the same time providing an income you cannot outlive

There are other safe money annuity types as well such as deferred annuities and immediate

annuities

There are also variable annuities but fees are generally much higher and your funds are at risk

Consider meeting with an income planning professional that can show you how to allocate a

portion of your nest egg inside a guaranteed income structure allowing you to sleep

better at night and truly enjoy this time in life

Guaranteed Lifetime Income

• There are literally thousands of options and strategies that can be used to

increase your social security benefits over the course of the lifetime of you and

your spouse

Many professionals now have the ability to assist their clients with systems and

software that can help determine which options might increase your benefits

It is worth the time and expense to take a look at how maximizing your benefits can

increase your overall, long term income plan

Before filing to start your social security benefits consider having someone assist you

in taking a look at options that may give you more money long term and how

social security income can work in conjunction with your other retirement

income sources

Maximizing Social Security Pt.

I

• In conclusion, keep in mind there are only two things you can do with all of this

money you have accumulated throughout your life - you will either spend it on

yourself or you will leave it for someone else to spend

You aren't taking it with you

That being said, make the effort to meet with an experienced professional and take

what's needed and put it into an income plan that will guarantee your income

and protect those funds from market risk

Whatever isn't used for income purpose can be focused on growth for additional

financial needs or wealth transfer, but at least then you won't lose sleep at night

worrying about the next market downturn destroying your income for decades

to come

Maximizing Social Security Pt.

II

My firm helps retirees

properly plan and layout

their income needs

from a safe-money

perspective.

Visit my website

http://www.saferetirementexp

erts.com/ for more

information on how I could

personally assist you.