BY BETH HENARY WATSON
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM
One of the biggest mindset shifts when retirement comes is how you actually get paid. When you retire, you go from getting a regular paycheck, usually biweekly, and saving money, to using what you’ve saved to fund your lifestyle.
So, how do you set up your retirement paycheck to flow into your bank account?
If you are filing for Social Security and/or getting another pension-style payment right at retirement age, this is fairly straightforward. Those will go into your bank account each month on a set date. If your regular budget requires more money each month, we next look at what investments and other funds you have to pull from. From those we can set up monthly, quarterly, or even annual direct deposits to fill that budget gap.
If you are delaying Social Security and living of off assets first—which can be a smart move in some cases—you’ll simply be pulling a greater amount from your nest egg first. When you file for Social Security, we can throttle withdrawals from your investments back.
And here’s a Pro Tip Warning: We find that clients often misunderstand how much is safe to withdraw from investment accounts. Make sure you have a good handle on this by working with your advisor on your specific situation. You don’t want to draw down too much too fast, but we also want you to feel empowered to confidently spend what you’ve worked hard for.
Going from getting regular paychecks to living off a combination of monthly Social Security and pension deposits as well as investments can be a major adjustment.
If you need help thinking about how the pieces of your retirement puzzle can work together, give us a call at (940) 325-9800. We’d love to talk to you about living your best retirement life possible.