15 Reasons to Invest After Retirement

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Working for a company with no retirement plans doesn't mean you can't create your own.

The time has finally come: you’re ready to retire. For many, this means living off savings or social security, but in reality, now that you’re unemployed it’s time you started making real money. Investing after retirement is a great way to continue making income, cover expenses in lieu of a regular paycheck, and stay plugged into the booming American economy.

  1. Social security is drying up

If you plan on retiring any time after the next 20 years, you shouldn’t count on social security funds. A 2014 report estimates that social security will no longer be able to pay full benefits after 2033. This means that those that retire after this demarcation point should expect to supplement federal aid with individual income — such as investments.

  1. Life expectancy is increasing

Clean living, improved healthcare resources, increased social awareness, and many other factors have all contributed to a steady increase in life expectancy over the years. Today, being young at heart means more than ever — retirees can expect to live an additional 15 – 20 years into their twilight years. The average life expectancy today is 80, which is almost a decade older than the to 71 year life expectancy of 1960.

  1. Investing is fun

Many retirees will take up new hobbies to fill the time previously occupied by professional obligations. Why not make your daytime hobby making money? Day trading stocks is the perfect retiree activity because it’s just as complicated as you want it to be. You can trade casually, and pick up some minor gains here or there. Or, go in full bore and make it your new job. After all, investments provide extra money, so have some fun with it.

  1. Delaying social security payments boosts your benefits

Let’s say your investments are performing exceptionally well, and maybe you don’t necessarily need social security yet. Your social security payout increases by 8 percent for every year you delay payments. So if you’ve held off on social security, and it has come time to cash out investments, your federal retirement benefits will be worth far more than usual.

  1. Moving

Want to spend the next chapter of your life in Myrtle Beach? Naples, Florida? Now that you’re retired, you’re free to live anywhere you want — unfettered by professional constraints, the world is your oyster. But there’s one problem: how will you afford it? Your savings account should be preserved for medical expenses, and you already checked the couch cushions for loose change. Well, investments with high yield interest rates or dividend payments are a good way to boost your income and gain a little extra cash.

  1. You earned it

What has decades of penny pinching amounted to if you can’t spend your savings during retirement? Part of the reason you budgeted so carefully in your professional years is to ensure security as you grow old. Well, here you are, and it’s time to tap that sacred savings account. As you assess your finances in old age, consider how much savings you’re willing to gamble on the market — what do you have to lose?

  1. There’s no better time to invest than now

This is not to say that the market is particularly ripe for new investors right now — although 2017 saw record high economic numbers — but more so that anytime is a good time to invest. You can guarantee the market will fluctuate in your 15+ years of retirement, but that’s not the point. As long as you build a portfolio that can bear a bear market, you will be in good shape to weather market slumps. As they say, “don’t play with scared money.”

  1. Grandchildren

Your kids are all grown up, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. As a retired grandparent, you’re in charge of vacations, dinners out, movie nights, and other fun activities with the grandkids. And, you guessed it, one of the best ways to bankroll fun money is through thriving investments. In fact, while it might not be the most exciting prospect for the kid, a safe, slow-maturing investment is a great grandkid birthday gift.

  1. Jumpstart a startup

Are you passionate about the future of tech? Small philanthropies? Artisan dog treats? Whatever your calling may be, there is likely a startup that you can help get off the ground. One study found that 100 million startups try to get off the ground every year, and they need your help. Invest in a cause you care about, and in the process make someone’s entrepreneurial dreams come true.

  1. Broaden your horizons

Now that you’re retired it’s time to read those books you never got around to, learn a new skill, travel the world, and, most importantly, diversify your portfolio. Financial experts suggest that retirees pursue many different types of assets to help offsite potential market volatility.

  1. Travel

For most, vacation tops the list of most anticipated retirement activities. It’s easy to get swept up in fantasies of cold beer and catching rays on the beach, but you you need a way to pay for it. Investments are a good way to compound your savings, and make a little extra vacation money.

  1. Health

Studies show that retirees require upwards of $260,000 to cover medical expenses as they age. Maybe, thanks to years of frugality, you have this kind of money in savings, but it never hurts to stash away a little extra cash. The population nearing retirement needs to be able to expect the unexpected, so use the stock market as an opportunity to compound your emergency fund in case of expensive medical bills.

  1. Taxes

Just because you’re retired doesn’t mean you can avoid the taxman — after all, according to Benjamin Franklin, alongside death, taxes are one of the two certainties in life. While you no longer have to pay payroll taxes, you will still pay taxes on social security benefits. Plus, you are required to pay taxes on IRA withdrawals. Tax season can feel extra overwhelming if you are without a reliable source of income, so avoid the April financial crunch and tap investment gains to pay taxes during retirement.

  1. Support a company you care about

If you’re on the verge of retirement you probably had a long, prosperous career. Maybe you jumped around to different positions, or maybe you logged a couple decades at one company. Either way, chances are there is a company you want to be involved with that you never got a chance to work at. Investing in a company is a good way to gain a sense of belonging, and do your part to support a company dear to your heart — even if you never actually worked there.

  1. Stay sharp on market trends

All of the financial benefits of investments aside, investing in the market gives you a reason to care. One of the scariest prospects of retirement is the threat of complacency, so fend off apathy by giving yourself a reason to stay up-to-date. You are far more likely to take a keen interest in economic trends when you have a little skin in the game.
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Dear Penny: How Do I Save for Retirement on a Teacher’s Salary?

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Dear Penny,

I’m 51 years old and don’t have a large nest egg. I’m a single parent with three kids. I’m a second career middle school teacher, so there is not a lot of money left over each month. 

How much money should I be saving to be able to retire in my 70s? Where should I invest that money?

-B.

Dear B.,

You still have 20 years to build your nest egg if all goes as planned. Sure, you’ve missed out on the extra years of compounding you’d have gotten had you accumulated substantial savings in your 20s and 30s. But that’s not uncommon. I’ve gotten plenty of letters from people in their 50s or 60s with nothing saved who are asking how they can retire next year.

I like that you’re already planning to work longer to make up for a late start. But here’s my nagging concern: What if you can’t work into your 70s?

The unfortunate reality is that a lot of workers are forced to retire early for a host of reasons. They lose their jobs, or they have to stop for health reasons or to care for a family member. So it’s essential to have a Plan B should you need to leave the workforce earlier than you’d hoped.

Retirement planning naturally comes with a ton of uncertainty. But since I don’t know what you earn, whether you have debt or how much you have saved, I’m going to have to respond to your question about how much to save with the vague and unsatisfying answer of: “As much as you can.”

Perhaps I can be more helpful if we work backward here. Instead of talking about how much you need to save, let’s talk about how much you need to retire. You can set savings goals from there.

The standard advice is that you need to replace about 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income. Of course, if you can retire without a mortgage or any other debt, you could err on the lower side — perhaps even less.

For the average worker, Social Security benefits will replace about 40% of income. If you’re able to work for another two decades and get your maximum benefit at age 70, you can probably count on your benefit replacing substantially more. Your benefit will be up to 76% higher if you can delay until you’re 70 instead of claiming as early as possible at 62. That can make an enormous difference when you’re lacking in savings.

But since a Plan B is essential here, let’s only assume that your Social Security benefits will provide 40%. So you need at least enough savings to cover 30%.

If you have a retirement plan through your job with an employer match, getting that full contribution is your No. 1 goal. Once you’ve done that, try to max out your Roth IRA contribution. Since you’re over 50, you can contribute $7,000 in 2021, but for people younger than 50, the limit is $6,000.

If you maxed out your contributions under the current limits by investing $583 a month and earn 7% returns, you’d have $185,000 after 15 years. Do that for 20 years and you’d have a little more than $300,000. The benefit to saving in a Roth IRA is that the money will be tax-free when you retire.

The traditional rule of thumb is that you want to limit your retirement withdrawals to 4% each year to avoid outliving your savings. But that rule assumes you’ll be retired for 30 years. Of course, the longer you work and avoid tapping into your savings, the more you can withdraw later on.

Choosing what to invest in doesn’t need to be complicated. If you open an IRA through a major brokerage, they can use algorithms to automatically invest your money based on your age and when you want to retire.

By now you’re probably asking: How am I supposed to do all that as a single mom with a teacher’s salary? It pains me to say this, but yours may be a situation where even the most extreme budgeting isn’t enough to make your paycheck stretch as far as it needs to go. You may need to look at ways to earn additional income. Could you use the summertime or at least one weekend day each week to make extra money? Some teachers earn extra money by doing online tutoring or teaching English as a second language virtually, for example.

I hate even suggesting that. Anyone who teaches middle school truly deserves their time off. But unfortunately, I can’t change the fact that we underpay teachers. I want a solution for you that doesn’t involve working forever. That may mean you have to work more now.

Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior editor at The Penny Hoarder. Send your tricky money questions to AskPenny@thepennyhoarder.com.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

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How To Retire At 50: 10 Easy Steps To Consider

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Can you retire at 50? On average, people usually retire at 65. But what if you want to retire 15 years earlier than that like  at 50? Is it doable? Below are 10 easy steps to take to retire at 50.  Retiring early can be challenging. Therefore, SmartAsset’s free tool can match you with  a financial advisor who can help to work out and implement a retirement income strategy for you to maximize your money.

10 Easy & Simple Steps to Retire at 50:

1. How much you will need in retirement.

The first thing to consider is to determine how much you will need to retire at 50. This will vary depending on the lifestyle you want to have during retirement. If you desire a lavish one, you will certainly need a lot.

But according to a study by SmartAsset, 500k was found to be enough money to retire comfortably. But again that will depends on several factor.

For example, you will need to take into account where you want to live, the cost of living, how long you expect to live, etc.

Read: Can I Retire at 60 With 500k? Is It Enough?

A good way to know if 500k is possible to retire on is to consider the 4% rule. This rule is used to figure out how much a retiree should withdraw from his or her retirement account.

The 4% rule states that the money in your retirement savings account should last you through 30 years of retirement if you take out 4% of your retirement portfolio annually and then adjust each year thereafter for inflation.

So, if you plan on retiring at 50 with 500k for 30 years, using the 4% rule you will need to live on $20,000 a year. 

Again, this is just an estimation out there. You may need less or more depending on the factors mentioned above. For example, if you’re in good health and expect to live 40+ years after retiring at 50, $500,000 may not be enough to retire on. That’s why it’s crucial to work with a financial advisor.

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2. Maximize your tax-advantaged retirement accounts.

Once you have an idea of how much you need in order to retire at 50, your next step is to save as much as possible at a faster rate. If you are employed and you have a 401k plan available to you, you should definitely participate in it. Nothing can grow your retirement savings account faster than a 401k account.

See: How to Become a 401k Millionaire.

That means, you will need to maximize your 401k contributions, for example. In 2020, and for people under 50, the 401k contribution limit is $19,500.  Also, take advantage of your company match if your employee offers a match.

In addition to the maximum contribution of $19,500, your employer also contributes. Sometimes, they match dollar for dollar or 50 cents for each dollar the worker pays in.

In addition to a 401k plan, open or maximize your Roth or traditional IRA. For an IRA, it is $6,000. So, by maximizing your retirement accounts every year, your money will grow faster.

3. Invest in mutual or index funds. Apart from your retirement accounts (401k, Roth or Traditional IRA, SEP IRA, etc), you should invest in individual stocks or preferably in mutual funds. 

4. Cut out unnecessary expenses.

Someone with the goal of retiring at 50 needs to keep an eye on their spending and keep them as low as possible. We all know the phrase, “the best way to save money is to spend less.”

Well, this is true when it comes to retiring 15 years early than the average.  So, if you don’t watch TV, cancel Netflix or cable TV. If your cell phone bill is high, change plans or switch to another carrier. Don’t go to lavish vacations.

5. Keep an eye on taxes.

Taxes can eat away your profit. The more you can save from taxes, the more money you will have. Retirement accounts are a good way to save on taxes. Besides your company 401k plan, open a Roth or Traditional IRA.

6. Make more money.

Spending less is a great way to save money. But increasing your income is even better. If you need to retire at 50, you’ll need to be more aggressive. And the more money you earn, the more you will be able to save. And the faster you can reach your early retirement goal.

7. Speak with a financial advisor. 

Consulting with a financial advisor can help you create a plan to. More specifically, a financial advisor specializing in retirement planning can help you achieve your goals of retiring at 50. They can help put in a place an investment strategy to put you in the right track to retire at 50. You can easily find one in your local area by using SmartAsset’s free tool. It matches users with financial advisors in just under 5 minutes.  

8. Decide how you will spend your time in retirement.

If you will spend a lot of time travelling during retirement, then make sure you do research. Some countries like the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, the Philippines, and so many others are good places to travel to in retirement because the cost of living is relatively cheap.

While other countries in Europe can be very expensive to travel to, which can eat away your retirement money.  If you decide to downsize or sell your home, you can free up more money to spend.

9. Financing the first 10 years.

There is a penalty of 10% if you cash out your retirement accounts before you reach the age of 59 1/2. Therefore, if you retire at 50, you’ll need to use money in other accounts like traditional savings or brokerage accounts. 

10. Put your Bonus, Raise, & Tax Refunds towards your retirement savings. 

If retiring at 50 years old is really your goal, then you should put all extra money towards your retirement savings. That means, if you receive a raise at work, put some of it towards your savings account.

If you get a tax refund or a bonus, use some of that money towards your retirement savings account. They can add up quickly and make retiring at 50 more of a reality than a dream.

Retiring at 50: The Bottom Line: 

So can I retire at 50? Retiring at 50 is possible. However, it’s not easy. After all, you’re trying to grow more money in less time. So, it will be challenging and will involve years of sacrifices, years living below your means and making tough financial decisions. However, it will be worth it in the long run. 

Read More:

  • How Much Is Enough For Retirement
  • How to Grow Your 401k Account
  • People Who Retire Comfortably Avoid These Financial Advisor Mistakes
  • 5 Simple Warning Signs You’re Definitely Not Ready for Retirement

Speak with the Right Financial Advisor

You can talk to a financial advisor who can review your finances and help you reach your goals (whether it is making more money, paying off debt, investing, buying a house, planning to retire at 50, saving, etc). Find one who meets your needs with SmartAsset’s free financial advisor matching service. You answer a few questions and they match you with up to three financial advisors in your area. So, if you want help developing a plan to reach your financial goals, get started now.

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