Everyone will eventually retire at one point or another in their lives, and there are a few factors to consider ahead of retirement.
Many people are excited to retire and quit working, while others feel they may never be ready.
Whether this is you or not, you still need to prepare.
Here are 5 things to take into consideration ahead of your decision to retire
First, you need to think about your age.
The age you choose to retire has a direct impact on your Social Security benefits.
Retiring early at age 62 before your full retirement age could cause you to lose up to 30% of your monthly benefits.
Social Security: Working retirement benefits
Your full retirement age at 66-67 will give you 100% of your benefits.
If you choose to wait until age 70 you will see the biggest payout.
The best choice depends on yourself and your lifestyle.
This brings in the second thing to consider: your lifestyle in the future.
You need to consider what you’ll be spending money on as a retired person and whether you want to work or travel.
Another consideration should be your financial readiness.
This means you need to check to see if you’re financially ready to retire.
Look at your lifestyle then how much money you have, and decide if it’s enough to lived comfortably or if it’ll cause you to struggle.
You also need to look at your debt.
If you have a house, car, and credit card to still pay off, you may want to wait until you’ve paid off more.
You’ll also want to consider any family members that you may still support.
These are the financial obligations you want to tie up before retiring.
Finally, you want to keep in mind any medical costs you may end up with in the future.
Medicare will cover most things at age 65 and older, but not everything.
Long term care and dental are not covered.
Supplemental coverage may help with this.
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