Editor: Crass Cash
Here are a bunch of mistakes that you need to avoid when you reach your 60's. Some should have been taken care of a long time ago, but now is definitely the time if you haven't!
1. Setup your estate. Get a will. Get a power of attorney. Get a living will. Get an advanced medical directive. If you don't know what these things are or if you haven't up dated them in a decade, then you need to see an attorney, pronto!
2. Decide when you want to take social security. This is a personal judgement call. You need to try to decide how much longer you're going to live. If you're in good health and your parents lived into their 90s then I'd recommend delaying social security until you're 70, especially if you're still working and don't need it. If you're plagued by health problems and you've already lived past the age of your parents, well then you probably need to take it sooner rather than later. I know these are hard things to think about, but it's life.
3. Stop investing like you're 20. When you were young and starting out you could take tons of risk with your future retirement because there was plenty of time to make up for it if you made a mistake. That's no longer the case when you're 60. By now you should have half of your money in bonds, up to 60% of your liquid assets. This will help protect you from having to take withdrawals from the stock market when it crashes. Put an additional 1% into bonds for each year that you age.
4. Have a transition plan. Retirement can be wonderful or it can be incredibly boring. You need to find stuff to do and also adjust to your new lifestyle. You may want to and probably should move to part time and then also try living off of your planned retirement income. Do this years in advance so that it doesn't come as a shock.
5. Be realistic about your lifespan. If you make it to age 65, there's a 25% chance that you or your wife will live into your 90s. Will your money last that long? Contrary to popular belief the life span for somebody who has made it to adulthood isn't 78 or 80 for women. It's about 7 years longer than that. That 78 number takes into account infant mortality and childhood disease, all of which you've made it through. Plan accordingly!
1. Setup your estate. Get a will. Get a power of attorney. Get a living will. Get an advanced medical directive. If you don't know what these things are or if you haven't up dated them in a decade, then you need to see an attorney, pronto!
2. Decide when you want to take social security. This is a personal judgement call. You need to try to decide how much longer you're going to live. If you're in good health and your parents lived into their 90s then I'd recommend delaying social security until you're 70, especially if you're still working and don't need it. If you're plagued by health problems and you've already lived past the age of your parents, well then you probably need to take it sooner rather than later. I know these are hard things to think about, but it's life.
3. Stop investing like you're 20. When you were young and starting out you could take tons of risk with your future retirement because there was plenty of time to make up for it if you made a mistake. That's no longer the case when you're 60. By now you should have half of your money in bonds, up to 60% of your liquid assets. This will help protect you from having to take withdrawals from the stock market when it crashes. Put an additional 1% into bonds for each year that you age.
4. Have a transition plan. Retirement can be wonderful or it can be incredibly boring. You need to find stuff to do and also adjust to your new lifestyle. You may want to and probably should move to part time and then also try living off of your planned retirement income. Do this years in advance so that it doesn't come as a shock.
5. Be realistic about your lifespan. If you make it to age 65, there's a 25% chance that you or your wife will live into your 90s. Will your money last that long? Contrary to popular belief the life span for somebody who has made it to adulthood isn't 78 or 80 for women. It's about 7 years longer than that. That 78 number takes into account infant mortality and childhood disease, all of which you've made it through. Plan accordingly!
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