This is the first post of a new series I’ll be writing on retirement planning, covering everything from saving for retirement to some of the best retirement strategies I’m using today with clients. There’s a saying in financial planning that the answer to every question is always “it depends” because everyone’s situation is different. And it’s the same with retirement planning. It’s never a good idea to follow general advice as if it were scripture. I highly recommend seeking out tailored advice from someone who you can trust has your best interests in mind (preferably a fiduciary advisor). With that said, my hope for this series of posts is to review some retirement planning concepts that you can use as a resource and foundation for your planning.
It should go without saying that the first step is making sure you’re saving money each year for retirement. Long gone are the days where your employer will take care of you with a pension in retirement and Social Security Income, which was never designed to be a sole source of retirement income in the first place, is facing numerous challenges that are both slowly delaying when one can receive it as well as increasing the benefit amount at a much slower pace than the rate of inflation and Medicare costs.
The amount to save each year is dependent upon many factors including current amount of savings, future sources of income, time until retirement and the lifestyle you wish to live in retirement. However, a general rule of thumb that most should follow if you wish to enjoy your golden years is to save at least 10% to 15% of your income each year for retirement. If you’re getting started late, you might need to bump up that amount closer to 15% – 20%. This may seem like a lot and you might even be thinking “I don’t have that much leftover to save each month…” And therein lies the problem.
Most people approach their budget backwards – they pay their bills and then save whatever is left, which usually isn’t that much. I blame this mainly on the lack of financial education in our school systems, but regardless we need to flip this thinking on its head. The first bill you should be paying each month is yourself (your savings). Then, you can feel just fine spending the rest (your discretionary income) on your lifestyle. Whenever I meet with someone who isn’t happy with the amount of money they have saved, this is the reason. The good news is that it’s super simple to fix! Just a slight change in your mindset. If you want to ensure that you’ll always be financially stable, do not take on additional liabilities (monthly payments) unless you can afford them with your discretionary income AFTER putting money away into savings.
Where to save for retirement – Traditional vs Roth
All retirement accounts (401(k)’s, 403(b)’s, IRA’s, the government TSP, etc.) fall under one of two categories from a tax perspective: they’re either a Traditional account or a Roth account. The difference between the two is simply when taxes are paid. With a traditional account, contributions each year are tax-deductible but all withdrawals in retirement are considered taxable income. For a Roth account, all contributions have to be made with after-tax dollars (pay income taxes on the money today) but all withdrawals in retirement are tax-free.
Two important points to note are that the government considers “retirement” after age 59 ½ so any withdrawals before this will be charged a 10% penalty, and both Traditional and Roth accounts experience the benefit of tax-deferred growth meaning you do not owe taxes on interest, dividends and gains earned throughout the year. This tax-deferred component is a huge benefit because it means your money will grow quicker by allowing the gains to remain invested and compound over time.
The next question most people ask is: in which type of account is it better to invest? That depends on numerous factors like your tax bracket today, tax bracket in retirement and length of time until you’ll be taking the money out, but here are some generally rules that will serve you well:
1) If you work for a company that offers a retirement plan with a match, make sure you take full advantage of it – it’s free money!
2) If you’re in your 20’s or 30’s, look to utilize Roth accounts given that you have at least 20 years (and probably 30 to 40+) until you’ll be withdrawing the money.
3) If you’re in your 40’s or 50’s, it probably makes sense to do a combination of Traditional and Roth contributions, but again, this depends on the factors mentioned above.
4) If you’re currently in a high tax bracket, and especially if you’re within a few years of retirement, look to maximize the benefits of tax-deductible contributions to a Traditional account.
Unfortunately not every company that offers a retirement plan has a Roth option. In this case, you can look to open a Roth IRA on your own. However, since the tax-free aspect of Roth retirement accounts can be so powerful in the long run, the government limits who has the ability to contribute based on one’s modified adjusted gross income. For 2014, the income limit to make full contributions for single tax filers is $114,000. The income limit on full contributions for joint tax filers is $181,000. Then there is a “phase-out” where you can contribute reduced amounts up to incomes of $129,000 and $191,000, respectively, and no contributions allowed for income above those levels.
Income and Contribution Limits
Lastly, the annual contribution maximums for 401(k)’s, 403(b)’s and the government TSP is $17,500 in 2014, with the ability to contribute an additional $5,500 “catch-up” if you’re older than 50. The contribution limit for Roth IRA’s in 2014 is $5,500, with an additional $1,000 “catch-up” contribution if you’re 50 or older. In terms of what to actually invest in after you’ve put the money in a retirement account, that’s a rather lengthy conversation that goes beyond the scope of this post. However, I recommend selecting investments based on the risk you’re able to tolerate as well as looking for low-cost solutions. I’m partial to individual stocks/bonds but they take time and energy to perform the necessary research. If you’re not comfortable with individual securities, I would recommend going with low-cost index funds.
There are many other nuances and rules that relate to particular plan types but hopefully this can serve as a starting point. The next post in this series will focus on mapping out what you want your retirement to look like and the transition process to make it happen.
-Nick
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Great read – thanks for sharing, Nick!