11 Retirement Resolutions for 2011

These new year’s resolutions will help you get ready for retirement

December 13, 2010 RSS Feed Print

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Estimate your retirement expenses. Set yourself an approximate retirement goal by figuring out how much you spend each year and multiplying that by how long you think you will live after retirement. "If you need $40,000 to $50,000 a year to live on, then you have to resign yourself to the fact that you will probably need $1 million for retirement if you are thinking about retiring over 30 years," says Feldman. "People really have to understand that they have to put away serious money in order to meet their retirement goals."

Learn how to maximize your Social Security checks. Social Security benefits provide a nice base for your savings to build on. Get an estimate of how much you can expect to receive in retirement from your annual Social Security statement or by using the Social Security Administration's retirement estimator tool. Factor in that Social Security payouts will increase for each year you delay signing up between ages 62 and 70.

Don't inflate your lifestyle. If you're fortunate enough to get a raise next year, consider diverting some of that money into your retirement account. "Any time you get a promotion, that is a great time to set some money aside and make the best use of it before it just becomes part of your current lifestyle," says McNary. "It's much easier to do it that way than to try to scale back later."

Eliminate unnecessary expenses. You will be able to get by with less money in retirement if you eliminate as many costs as possible before you leave your job, including mortgage principal and interest payments, credit card debt, and car loans. Upon retirement, also consider relocating to a lower-cost area of the country and curbing one of your cars.

[See The Million-Dollar Retirement Plan.]

Plan your new life. Start dreaming about things you would like to do after you leave your job. Travel, hobbies, volunteer work, and even some form of continued work are all generally a part of the retirement years. "People should plan that their retirement is going to include some type of part-time work," says Gilbert. "It stretches your retirement budget, challenges you physically and mentally, and it gives you something to fill up your days."

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Dear Diane, It's the Democrats who voted to cut $500 Billion from Medicare to fund medical care for others. No Republican plan to date includes reductions for current recipients. Please remember that when you vote in 2012.

Michael of AL 6:32PM January 02, 2011

The problem is they are already gutted. Medicare and Social Security programs are unsustainable as currently structured. These two programs have to be restructured or future generations will not get a dime from them. No party at this point has had the courage to suggest anything that could make these programs solvent. Whether it be democrat or republican is doesn't matter, someone has to step up and face reality. There are a few ready step up but the question remains whether the American people will have the maturity to accept what has to be done.

Mike Miller of CA 7:06PM December 31, 2010

These help seniors more than anything and our new Republican congress is going to gut these programs they consider "Entitlements." These are not entitlements -I have paid taxes for the last 50 years and am now able to access these funds. When the Republicans want to cut something, let them gut the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2%.
Let them stop funding the BLM which is rounding up the wild horses and mustangs off our public lands so that cattle can graze. Meantime, the American people are stuck with the bill of the holding facilities and the helicopters running these horses for miles and miles in heat and freezing temperatures. Many of these horses are auctioned off to killer buyers. CUT THE FUNDING OF THE BLM SO THEY CAN'T ROUND UP ANY MORE HORSES AND RESTORE THESE HORSES WITH THEIR FAMILIES TO THE PUBLIC LANDS THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PROTECTED ON. Get rid of the holding pens as the horses roam free on the public lands. URGE YOUR SENATORS TO GET THE ROAM ACT OUT OF COMMITTEE (Restore Our American Mustangs) AND VOTE TO RESTORE THE PROTECTIONS TO THESE WILD HORSES AND BURROS. Go to In Defense of Animals, Saving America's Mustangs to learn more. This is a total waste of our federal funds - we are subsidizing the cattle industry.

Diane L. Rechner of FL 4:18PM December 31, 2010