Your Life in Retirement

How do you envision your days in retirement? Will you relocate? Travel with family and friends? Spend more time with your grandchildren?

Often we envision only the positive things that retirement can bring. But, to potentially avoid bumps in the road during retirement, you should plan for the risks as well. We don’t want you to focus on the negative; we just want you to be ready for it!

Budget for fun

Let’s start with the positive. Once you reach retirement, you’re entitled to enjoy the money that you may have accumulated through diligent participation in your retirement plan. But, use the money wisely. Traveling or enjoying your favorite pastime continuously may deplete your money sooner than you would like. A wise move may be to work with a financial planner to create a budget. Your budget can include money for your pastimes, travel and the risks you should plan for in retirement. Planning ahead and considering all of the options may help you achieve the retirement lifestyle you desire.

Plan for risks

As a New York State public employee you will be eligible for a pension from one of the State’s public retirement systems and Social Security. This will provide a ready source of income but planning your Plan distributions will be essential to ensure that those assets will last your lifetime. However, retirement has its share of possible risks that you may fall victim to if you don’t plan accordingly. Any of these may put a greater stress on your money if you don’t plan ahead:

• Healthcare – Healthcare costs now account for more than 20 percent of all personal spending, double what they were in 1970.¹
• Inflation – The United States has experienced inflation every year, except two, since 1955. Chances are good that things will cost more in the future.²
• Out-living your money – Whether you’re 20, 40 or 60 years old, living past 100 is becoming more and more common.

While planning for your retirement, strike a balance between planning for risks and planning for fun. You may be thankful that you did.

Get the help you need

Talk with one of our Account Executives to prepare for your life in retirement. To determine how much more income you may need to account for recreation and risks, use the Interactive Retirement Planner.

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¹The National Retirement Risk Index, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, February 2008
²Historical Inflation, Inflationdata.com, http://inflationdata.com/inflation/inflation_rate/HistoricalInflation.aspx?dsInflation_currentPage=2 (accessed 10/3/11)

Investing involves market risk, including possible loss of the money invested.