Call 619-395-4899 to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

Call 619-395-4899 to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

5 Things That Might Surprise You About Retirement

Posted by Dhina Valencia, January 20, 2017

Think you’re ready for retirement? Or perhaps you are already retired? Either way, most people find themselves surprised by the reality, versus their vision. As you continue planning for the future, keep these retirement statistics in mind, and adjust your plans accordingly.

A majority of Americans plan to retire after age 65, although many continue to work part time after 65. Probably due to financial concerns, 56 percent of women and 59 percent of men say that either they plan to retire after age 65, or not at all. While a later retirement might work out for some people, the average age of retirement is 64 for men and 62 for women. You should probably prepare for the possibility that illness or disability could change your plans.

Social Security will replace less than half of your income. When you stop working, your regular paychecks will also stop. According to the Social Security Administration, the average monthly benefits check will replace about 40 percent of that lost income. That means 60 percent of your income will be missing, if you don’t have another retirement income plan in place.

Your income taxes might surprise you. Income from retirement accounts is treated differently by the IRS, depending on the type of account. Withdrawals from a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k) will be tax-free, assuming you follow the rules. Money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) is taxed as regular income, according to your tax bracket. If you have savings in a brokerage account, you could face capital gains taxes. Even Social Security income could be taxed, depending upon your overall income.

Many Americans are completely unprepared for retirement. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 26 percent of survey respondents have saved less than $1,000 for retirement. And the numbers for the rest of us aren’t that great either; a surprising 64 percent said they have saved less than $50,000.

The cost of healthcare can be enormous. Fidelity Investments recently released an estimate on retirement spending. According to them, a 65-year-old couple retiring right now will spend (on average) $260,000 on out-of-pocket healthcare expenses throughout their retirement years. When you compare that number to the above statistics on savings, you can see a large discrepancy!

These statistics sound alarming, but we can help with some aspects of planning for the future. Give us a call, and we’ll help you identify ways to manage your healthcare costs in retirement.

Need more information on your insurance options?

Contact us online to learn more

Contact Us

Close Accessibility Tools
Accessibility Controls Reset
Content Adjustments
Font Size

Default

Line Height

Default

Content Scaling

Default

Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Highlight Forms
Align Left
Align Center
Align Right
Focus Mode
Color Adjustments
Desaturate
Monochrome
Contrast

Default

Saturation

Default

Accessibility Statement

Despite our attempts to make this website accessible for everyone, there may still be some pages or sections that are not completely accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or do not have a suitable technological solution to make them accessible. Nevertheless, we are always striving to enhance our accessibility by adding, updating, improving its options and features, and incorporating new technologies.

We want to provide our users with the best experience possible, so we strive to support as many browsers and assistive technologies as possible.

If you wish to contact this website's owner, please use the contact form on the website.

Our User Interface Adjustment Options

Font adjustments - With this tool, users can modify font size, style, letter spacing, and line height for improved alignment and readability.

Color adjustments - Users can customize their color contrast profiles to light, dark, desaturated, and monochrome.

Content highlighting - Users can prioritize key elements such as links, forms, and titles.

Content focus - Users can enable focus mode to highlight the current page information based on their mouse movement.

Close