PLAN FOR RETIREMENT, OF COURSE, BUT WRITE IT DOWN

In the category of data that really surprised us, we were drawn to this item from wealthmanagement.com: “Despite the ubiquitous emphasis on the need to plan for retirement, few actually put it in writing. More than half of retirees have a retirement strategy, but only 10 percent have it committed to paper or pixels, according to a study released by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. The majority of those with a plan factored in Social Security and Medicare benefits, living expenses, healthcare costs and investment returns. But according to the 118-page survey, few considered the impact of inflation, taxes, long-term care insurance or the need for funds to pursue retirement ‘dreams’, like travel or pursuit of a hobby. A mere 7 percent have a contingency plan for retiring sooner than expected or running into a savings shortfall. Even more troubling, while two out of five full or partial retirees over 50 have a financial advisor, 80 percent of those say that their advisor picks investments for them; Less than half say their financial advisor consults with them on retirement savings and spending.”