Is Your Financial House In Order?
Self-Assessment For Pre-Retirement Income Planning
People retire for different reasons and at different ages. Some have a plan and have time to prepare and for others, it is forced upon them to no fault of their own. You cannot move forward and begin living your ideal life, with any degree of confidence, if your financial house is in disarray.
Below are some questions and key points of consideration as you prepare for the next stage of your life. Grab a blank sheet of paper and rate your confidence or knowledge on a scale of 1-10 for the 33 questions and then add up your total score. If that's too much work, just read the questions and see how you feel afterward.
Retirement Income Planning
___ How confident are you that you will not run out of money in retirement?
___ How confident are you that your current advisor can provide you with the retirement income planning you need?
___ What’s your level of confidence/knowledge in your current investment strategy?
___ Do you know what your rates of return are for the past 5-10 years?
___ What are the fees for your existing investments?
___ What is your level of confidence in your current retirement plan?
___ Do you know how many sources of income you have?
___ How many sources of income will you have if your spouse dies?
___ Are you comfortable managing your own investment portfolio throughout retirement?
Estate Planning
___ Do you have an updated will?
___ Where is your will?
___ Who is your executor?
___ Do you have life insurance?
___ Do you have a plan to pay for final expenses?
___ Who are the beneficiaries of your estate, investments, insurance policies?
Risk Management
___ How will you pay for extended health benefits in retirement?
___ How will you pay for travel insurance when outside of Canada?
___ What will happen if you get a disability or terminal illness in retirement?
___ Where will you live if you can’t stay alone?
___ Who will look after your financial affairs if you can’t do it yourself?
Tax Planning
___ Do you have someone who can complete your tax returns?
___ Are you familiar with the tax credits and deductions available to you in retirement?
___ Are you confident that you are not overpaying income taxes?
Government Benefits
___ Are you aware of the benefits available to you?
___ Have you applied or know how to apply for CPP and OAS?
___ Do you know about survivor benefits?
Assets
___ Do you know where all of your investments are held?
___ Do you know who to speak with if you need information about your investments?
___ Do you know when and how to should convert your RRSP to a RRIF?
___ Is your home in good repair?
___ When will you downsize?
___ Should you consider a Reverse Mortgage? If so, when?
___ How to protect yourself from fraud?
Your Score:
Out of the 33 Questions, how did you score?
Between 275 - 330: You are prepared.
Between 225-275: You have a good grasp but need to work on a few areas of concern.
Between 165-225: You feel good about a few things, but there's work to do.
Below 165 - You are unprepared. You need help, and soon.
Be honest with yourself.
Getting your financial house in order can be complicated and as you get older it becomes more difficult to process these concepts. In addition, things are always changing and it’s difficult to stay on top of it all.
There’s no shame in getting professional help with planning and preparation.
How much sustainable income will you have in retirement? Are you going to run out? How much do you want to have leftover? Should you spend more in the early years? Which accounts do you draw from first? When is the best time to downsize and tap into your home equity?
If your confidence level isn’t too high after completing this self-assessment then book a meeting with a Retirement Income Planner who can help you get your total financial house in order and retire more confidently.
The more moving parts you have or if you have numerous sources of income then it becomes even more important to get that proper advice. Avoiding common mistakes can create a lot of money for your retirement lifestyle.
Click Here to learn more about our curated process for creating your financial roadmap for retirement, getting your total financial house in order, and living a life that inspires you.
Retirement Income, Investment & Tax Planning for Those 55+
Willis J Langford BA, MA, CFP
Nancy R Langford CRS
