For better or for worse, gone are the days of a golden retirement where anyone over age 65 was expected to fritter away the days with idle pursuits. As people live longer and healthier lives, retirement is beginning to take on a whole new look -- one filled with new activities and occupations. Increasingly, todays older American stays working longer and doesnt hesitate to change jobs -- or careers -- in the pursuit of keeping life interesting. In fact, as life expectancy increases, so does time spent in retirement, making retirement planning all the more important.
Social Security, once the mainstay of a retirees income, now provides only a portion of necessary funds; together with pension funds, they make up scarcely half of the aggregate income of today's retirees. You will need to rely on your own personal savings and investments for the majority of your income in retirement.
To prepare for this new and expanded version of retirement, youll need to develop a financial plan suited to your specific vision of the future. Working with a financial planner can help you identify the key factors -- time, inflation, and taxes -- to plan around and help you choose among investment types and asset classes.