Can I retire? This is one of the most common questions that Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC receives when talking to clients who are thinking ahead about their futures. Unfortunately, many people have far too little money saved for retirement and they do not have a solid plan in place to ensure they will be financially secure during their golden years. 
If you do not make your plans for retirement when you are young, the question, can I retire?, is probably going to cause you stress. You should work with an experienced attorney to build your estate plan as soon as you start your career or when you are as young as possible so you will have more time to plan. Of course, it is also better to get a late start on retirement planning than not to start at all, so you should talk with a Vermont retirement planning lawyer at whatever stage of life you are in now so your attorney can help you to move forward towards retirement.
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC will help you in many different ways with your retirement planning issues. One of the ways in which our legal team can help you is in assisting you in answering whether you’re ready to retire or not. We can also work with you to identify red flags that suggest you’re not yet ready to answer affirmatively to the question, can I retire?
4 Signs You Are Not Ready for Retirement
There are a few key red flag indicators that suggest you are NOT ready to retire yet. Four big signs you aren’t ready for retirement include the following:
- You don’t have enough money saved. Kiplinger has a calendar that you can use to determine how much money you actually should have saved up prior to giving up your job and retiring. You need to determine how much you want to spend and compare this amount to how much you’ll get from Social Security and any pensions available. Whatever the shortfall is, you will need savings to produce income to make up for it.
- You don’t have a plan for healthcare as a senior. When you retire, you’ll lose access to employer-subsidized insurance coverage in most cases. You need a plan to make sure you can get your costs covered. Be aware that Medicare does not cover everything, including the kind of nursing home care you may need as a senior.
- Your pension and/or Social Security aren’t going to kick in yet. You need to understand the age limit rules for when you start receiving retirement benefits. If you can wait longer to get Social Security and don’t start drawing your checks until you reach full retirement age, your Social Security payments will be higher.
- You haven’t thought about what you want to do when you retire. You don’t want to retire and find yourself bored and unhappy.
You don’t want to find yourself ready and eager to retire and then realize that your financial situation or other practical concerns are going to hold you back. You should talk with an experienced attorney at Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC to work on making your retirement plan as soon as you can so you will have the peace of mind of knowing you’ll be ready for retirement.
How to Make Sure You Can Answer Yes to the Question: Can I Retire?
It is up to you to save enough for retirement so you can retire when you are ready. While Social Security does provide you with some money as a senior, depending upon your earnings over your working life, the average Social Security benefit is just $1,341, according to Motley Fool. For most people, this is not enough to live on if you don’t have others sources of income coming in.
Since most employers today have either no retirement plan for workers or have a 401(K) or other defined contribution plan, employers typically no longer provide a guaranteed pension for life. If you cannot count on your employer, you have to depend upon your own savings to supplement your Social Security.
You need to work with an experienced attorney to find out how much to save, with the amount based on your income and expected retirement age, among other factors. Your attorney can also help you to identify accounts that will provide you with tax benefits for saving, such as traditional and Roth IRAs, so you can get help from the government through tax breaks that subsidize your savings.
Getting Help from A Vermont Retirement Planning Lawyer
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC can provide you with invaluable assistance in making certain that your retirement happens on your terms, when you are ready, and with the peace-of-mind of knowing that you will enjoy financial security during your golden years. To find out more about the ways in which a Vermont retirement planning lawyer can help you, download our free estate planning worksheet. You can also give us a call at (802) 879-7133 or contact us online to to get personalized advice from our legal team.
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