5 things to do when you are getting close to retirement

Congratulations! You are almost to retirement. As you move from thinking about building your retirement income to using it, here are 5 steps to prepare you for this new phase.

If you haven’t done so already, create a retirement budget to get a better idea of the amount of money you will need each month.
 

Take a look at your retirement account(s) to determine if you have accumulated enough to cover those expenses. If you have, congratulations! If not, there are a few options you can consider such as: planning to retire at a later age or increasing contributions to your account (if your contributions are already at the maximum allowed by your plan, explore catch-up contributions ).

You have some options  for what to do with your retirement account when you retire. Such options include:

• Roll over into a Traditional IRA
• Purchase an annuity benefit
• Keep assets in the retirement plan
• Take a lump sum
• Begin taking distributions

Continue to invest, and review your investment mix  with your financial professional to help determine if it’s appropriate for you. Investments should be conservative enough to preserve your income during retirement and aggressive enough to stay ahead of inflation.

It is important to determine a retirement income withdrawal plan because you may be drawing retirement income for decades, and if you spend too much in early years you risk short changing yourself later. 

There are a couple rules to keep in mind regarding how and when you can access your retirement account:

• At age 59½, you can start withdrawing money from your employer-sponsored plan without penalty. 
• For traditional IRAs and retirement plans, you must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) no later than April 1 following the year in which you turn 73.

When it is time to take distributions, financial professionals generally recommend that you withdraw from taxable accounts before tax-deferred accounts (such as your employer-sponsored retirement plan). 

If you haven’t already, it is a good time to create an estate plan with your attorney. This plan should take into account all of your assets (including investments, retirement accounts, insurance policies and real estate) and communicate who will carry on your legacy and how.
 

Log in to your account to take stock of your retirement savings. As you start to make plans for retirement, discuss these options with a financial professional.