Retirement savings, benefits influence decision3 of 7Social Security benefits are just one piece of the retirement income puzzle. You also need to take into account how much you -- and your spouse, if you're married -- have in retirement savings, whether you have pension benefits and if you have company retirement health benefits. Tally up how much income you expect you'll need, says Michael Kay, CFP, CPA and a financial planner with Financial Focus in Livingston, N.J."You have to look at your cash-flow needs," he says. "How important is it to your financial survival or to your cash-flow plans to have that money early in retirement versus several years down the road?" Related Articles:Planning your lifeTarget-date funds a trap?The pension dilemmaPros and cons of annuitiesRelated Links:Bond options for retireesRetirement plan trendsLeaving money to heirsFinding retirement income advertisement
Social Security benefits are just one piece of the retirement income puzzle. You also need to take into account how much you -- and your spouse, if you're married -- have in retirement savings, whether you have pension benefits and if you have company retirement health benefits. Tally up how much income you expect you'll need, says Michael Kay, CFP, CPA and a financial planner with Financial Focus in Livingston, N.J.
"You have to look at your cash-flow needs," he says. "How important is it to your financial survival or to your cash-flow plans to have that money early in retirement versus several years down the road?"
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