Ask someone to picture themselves in the distant future, and they will find it difficult to do. Sure, we can think about this summer’s vacation or maybe next year’s move to a new house, but most of us can’t really see ourselves ten or twenty years from now.
Research has demonstrated that when we try to do this, we see our future selves as basically a stranger. So it’s no wonder that retirement planning can feel like a drag. Who wants to save money for a stranger?!
But of course, we can certainly remember ourselves, looking backward. So one day, when you’re retired, you might look back at Current You and feel a bit frustrated with yourself. You might wish you had taken retirement planning a bit more seriously!
Set goals. Ask yourself what you want to do when you retire. Is it travel? Settling down at the beach? Pursuing a particular hobby or even starting a side business? You need to picture the future before you can put a price tag on it.
Identify your options. As a federal employee, you will receive Social Security, payments from your Basic Benefit annuity, and distributions from your Thrift Savings Plan. You automatically pay Social Security taxes and a contribution to the annuity plan, but what about your TSP? Are you contributing enough? How much do you need, anyway? How is it performing? We can help you answer these questions, and more.
Devote some time to retirement planning. The average person spends about five hours planning a vacation. But when it comes to retirement planning, we just check a few boxes on some forms at work, and want to forget about it. But since retirement will encompass a large part of your life, you should devote significant time to planning it. Give us a call, and we can help you chart a course for your future.
