Seven Mistakes People Make in Retirement

As many of you know, in addition to being the editor-in-chief of Utah’s Senior Review, I spend my days (and evenings) working with people 60 years of age and older, helping them better prepare for and live more securely in retirement. After many years of helping hundreds of clients, there are a few glaring mistakes I have seen people make time and time again – mistakes that put the safety of their retirement years at risk. I’d like to briefly share with you seven of those mistakes people sometimes make in retirement.

Seven Retirement Mistakes:

1  Failing to have and implement a plan for increasing, single or joint lifetime income that will keep up with inflation and guarantee that you (and your spouse) will never run out of income.

2  Leaving too much money at risk or too much of your money in a low-interest bank account when there are other safe places to keep and grow those funds.

3  Not addressing the likely need for long-term care nor knowing about the new long-term care insurance options available as of January 2010.

4  Failing to plan for the need for income replacement when one spouse dies, leaving the surviving spouse to live on a reduced income.

5  Taking Medicare incorrectly, which could result in penalties and higher out of pocket costs.

6  Not taking Social Security correctly, leading to not maximizing Social Security benefits at potentially leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the proverbial retirement income table.

7  Purchasing annuities without understanding how they really work, because many times how they really work is not disclosed by those who sell them.

      For nearly ten years, I have represented appropriate retirement products and strategies and welcome the opportunity to teach you about those retirement solutions so that you can make good decisions for yourself. Remember that knowledge is power - and in this case, that power can enable you to create a safer and more secure future for yourself and your surviving spouse.

If you are interested in learning about appropriate, safe, and secure retirement products and strategies, give me a call, and I’ll be happy to sit down with you to have a candid and helpful discussion about your future.

Boyd Casselman. 801-683-4333 or 801-628-1032.