Are you close to retirement age or considering early retirement? Will you soon be selling the family home and moving to a community in Pennsylvania? Once you retire, you will need a financial plan to support you, especially during emergencies. It is essential that you have a plan in mind to make your retirement stress-free.

Even if you don’t splurge or don’t lead an expensive lifestyle, having a substantial nest egg will always ensure that you will live comfortably in your golden years.

With this in mind, here are 8 financial goals you need to accomplish before you retire:

#1 Have Your Retirement Plans Set

Before you retire, you need to have a clear picture of what you will do after you retire. Will you travel around the world? Open a business? It would be best to have a retirement plan set up to make your retirement productive and stress-free.

You might even want to start by deciding where you want to live during your retirement. For instance, you can find homes for sale in Tellico Lake, TN that are a perfect fit for the over 55s.

#2 Be Debt-Free

Having debt can set you back financially, and no one wants to pay them off when you are retired. Before you retire, you need to pay off all your debts as soon as possible to prevent your retirement income from being used for these debts.

#3 Sort Out Emergency Funds

When you are retired, you need to have emergency funds on standby, so you don’t have to worry if something happens to your retirement income. It is ok whether you are only putting a small amount or all of your retirement income in your emergency fund. It will give you a sense of security and be ready for any occasion.

#4 Create a Retirement Financial Plan for Taxes

Although you will be retiring, taxes will still be something you need to pay for. Many retirement incomes will come with different taxes, and you will need to find ways to ensure these taxes won’t affect your financial future during your retirement. You can ask a financial expert like this retirement financial advisor to guide you through these taxes and create a plan for these taxes.

#5 Have a Source of Income During Retirement

Since you will retire, you will need to make sure that you have a steady flow of income to pay for whatever you will need during your retirement. You will need to check which source of income is available to you and what taxes will be attached to these income avenues to plan accordingly.

#6 Claim Your Social Security or CPF

Depending on where you are while you were working, you may be paying a retirement plan within your social security account or CPF (in Singapore) or EPF (in Malaysia). When you retire, it is an excellent income source you can use during your retirement. Check how many contributions you have made and how to claim them when you retire.

#7 Have Health Insurance and Plans Set

As we age, we will need medical protection if we get sick and require long-term hospitalisation or medical treatment. However, hospital and medical fees increase every year, and specific treatments are more expensive than others. With this in mind, your health insurance must cater to the changing health care costs and easy to claim mechanics.

# 8 Always Have Backup Plans

Life can get very unpredictable, which is why you will need to have backup plans in store to make sure you have something prepared if something goes wrong. Make sure to spend some time to build a plan together for any eventuality, and I hope you won’t need to push for these plans.

Having a clear financial plan and sorting out your retirement plans will make your retirement stress-free once you retire. Take your time to plan accordingly and secure your financial future by achieving the goals we listed above. If you don’t want your retirement to have glitches, prepare accordingly before making that big step to retirement.

Prepping for your retirement? Check out these tips to help you transit smoothly:
3 Ways Professionals Should Prepare Emotionally For Retirement
How to Finance Your Post-retirement Business
10 Jobs for Retirees Working from Home

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