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Thanks to S&S reader, Lily, for today’s post. Check out these quick tips for a comfortable retirement!

How To Plan For A Comfortable Retirement

How often do you think about retirement? 

Unless you have already put lots of plans in place for your finances later in life, then the answer is probably not enough. 

It can be hard thinking about something that may be decades away, but the older you get, the quicker your retirement age will come. When it does come around, you need to have enough money put aside to be able to live comfortably for several years. 

With our average lifespan increasing into our 80’s, it is more likely that you will live for many years after retirement. And, unless you have an income that will carry you through your whole life, you will need to have considerable savings set aside to live off. 

You will also need to consider that the value of the money that you set aside now will be lower in relative terms in the future due to inflation. With this in mind, you’ll need to put aside as much as possible.

Think About Your Retirement Now

You may only be in your 20’s or 30’s, but it is incredible how fast time will fly. Before you know it, you will be middle-aged and wondering where the time went. 

Start planning your retirement as early as possible. Think about the quality of life that you would like to have and where you want to live. You’ll need to put plans in place to reach your retirement goals, and it could take many years to meet these goals. 

Pick A Retirement Plan

Start paying into a retirement plan as early as you can.

If you have a 401k plan through your employer, take advantage of any matched contributions. The more you put in, the more it will be matched. 

If you don’t have a 401k, look at the options for IRA plans. You could even diversify your pension portfolio by having gold in an IRA.

Diversify Your Investments

Having investments in several different places will help guarantee the safety of your retirement fund. 

If anything happens to one of your investments, then at least you will have others to fall back on. 

As well as your retirement plan, think about putting money in savings bonds and stocks and shares. Use different companies to make sure that any savings are protected. Investing in index funds is a great way to get automatic diversification. 

Using A Second Home As Income

If you have paid off your mortgage on your own home, why not look at buying a second home? You could use your second home to provide a regular, reliable rental income which will help you out long into retirement. 

Becoming a landlord needn’t be a complicated matter. Once you have bought your home, you can hire a property management company or agent to find tenants, take rent payments, and maintain your property. 

If you decided that you need the equity that you have locked in your second home at any point, you would be able to sell the second home and take advantage of a lump sum.