Burns Estate Planning: How much money do you need to retire?

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - How much money do you need to retire? It’s an important question and one that a lot of people aren’t too sure about the answer. Chris Burns from Burns Estate Planning joined us in our Gulf Coast Spotlight with a look at a recent survey that explores this question.

The following questions and answers were provided by Burns Estate Planning.

Inflation has been a topic we’ve discussed regularly over the past year, and yesterday a survey came out from Northwestern Mutual that showed Americans believe they need a record high amount of money saved for a comfortable retirement: $1.46 million exactly!

Yes, things are more expensive than ever and unless you are taking a proactive approach you could be negatively impacted by the increase in cost. (elaborate on this)

Why do people need to be proactive?

There can be several reasons. High inflation can already put stress on a household budget, and then factors such as emergencies, debt, and poor spending habits can also cause a domino effect of not saving enough for retirement. That is why it is so important to assess your financial situation as ahead of time as possible.

So what are some ways that Americans can hedge against inflation?

For those who have maybe waited to start, making sure you are contributing to your 401(k) and receiving a full employer match can help immensely since it is essentially “free money” from your employer. There are also strategies such as contributing to an IRA that can be a tool for certain tax breaks, and investing in the stock market. Of course, at the end of the day, it depends on what your goals are and what your situation is.

So basically, you are saying that the key to beating inflation in retirement is looking at the whole picture and doing everything you can to be proactive?

Yes, which is also why sitting down with a financial advisor can be a huge help as well. We are here to assess your financial situation and have tools to help give examples of what your retirement could look like based on certain factors.

https://burnsestateplanning.com/

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