Gavin Bramley

 

Hit Counter

How Good is your retirement? Really...

A lot of people are in for a shock when they retire, for they’ll discover that their pensions

and retirement plans add up to just a fraction of their pre-retirement income.

Our experience suggests that the average worker receives less than 65% of their final salary as a pension upon retirement. In many cases this pension will not escalate in line with inflation. Many retirees are either forced to return to work or to rely on their families or some form of social welfare within five years of having retired.

That’s why you’re busy saving for retirement, and why you’ll find a heavy emphasis on retirement planning at Unique Wealth. Your financial planner will look at how well you’re meeting your retirement saving goals, how to get the most from your retirement plan at work, and how you can boost your own retirement savings. Your financial planner also will assist you in other critical retirement planning decisions, such as:

bullet where to invest your retirement account assets, particularly in relation to non-retirement money.
bullet What to do with your retirement plan assets when you leave work or change employers.
bullet How to handle your employee share options.
bullet Whether, at retirement, you should choose a monthly income or instead receive your retirement in one lump sum (and, if the latter, what to do with the proceeds).
bullet How to handle your RA investments.
bullet Who to choose as your retirement plan beneficiaries.
bullet When and how frequently you should make withdrawals from your retirement assets, and how much those withdrawals ought to be.
bullet Determining which investments to tap of your many accounts when you need income in retirement. Should you take money first from your taxable investments? Or Non taxable investments? Perhaps you should turn to your employer-sponsored plans instead. Or maybe from your fixed or variable annuities. This decision is laden with important tax implications including income taxes, capital gains taxes and estate taxes, now and throughout your retirement and upon death.
bullet How best to make your assets available to you now and to your spouse and children upon your death, in a manner that supports your lifestyle, protects your spouse, minimizes your taxes and preserves your assets for your heirs.