How much money do I need to retire comfortably?

That’s a difficult question and it depends on lot of factors.  However, if you are asking yourself this question you are way ahead of most people in the country.  The answer or you has to be custom crafted for you  because only you know what you think you will need to live on after you retire (and please factor in inflation and the extra healthcare you will need as you get older).  And of course, only you know the value of your investments and the social security or pension payments will pay you.  If after a thorough cashflow analysis you have a shortfall, be prepared to reduce expenditures or save more prior to retiring.

I would like to retire at 62 and collect social security.  Is that a good idea?

Retiring at 62 might be a very good idea for someone who has worked at hard manual labor all their life and has a limited amount of savings.  However, if you do, you will receive only 75% of what your benefit would have been had you waited until your “Normal Retirement Age”.  Not only that, if you earn any income in addition to social security, it might be deducted from your retirement check.  Generally it is best to wait until your Normal Retirement Age, which you can find by looking at your annual statement from social security.  By the way, if you can put off retiring after your Normal Retirement Age, your benefit will go up each year you wait until you are 70 years old.

If I don’t have a pension plan, how can I get a check for life in my retirement?

Sorry, but there are only three ways to get a check for life (and not all of them go up with the cost of living).  The first way is from social security.  The second way is through a pension plan, although many of my clients do not have pensions and most corporations and small businesses no longer offer them.  And the third way is by using an annuity, either fixed or variable.  And that’s it.  Unfortunately, fixed and variable annuities are among the most complex of financial products.  But don’t ignore them either for that reason.  Ask me for help.

Legal Disclosure:  Variable annuities are suitable for long-term investing, particularly for retirement.  Guarantees or insurance company ratings are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.  There are fees and charges associated with variable annuities including mortality and expense charges, administrative fees and annual contract fees.  Withdrawals of earnings from a variable annuity will be subject to Federal income and, possibly, other taxes.  Surrender charges may apply to early withdrawals from a variable annuity.