Retirement and Elder Care: Making Retirement Last

All the financial planning you've done throughout your life comes to fruition when you retire. But planning and budgeting don't end at retirement. Now that you've retired, you likely have a fixed amount of money to work with. And since people are living longer than ever, retirement savings need to last longer and work harder. It's more important than ever to make smart financial decisions.

Financial plan
It's time to take a financial inventory and figure out exactly what you have and how you're going to make that last as long as you do. Assess your income, assets and liabilities along with your assumptions and predictions of interest and inflation rates. This is your financial scenario. This is the basis for creating a new retirement budget and making decisions on whether to sell certain assets.

Your financial scenario will also help you decide what types of investments you want to make. Financial experts often suggest that retirement savings should be invested in more conservative funds. Younger investors have more time to recover from stock market losses and rebuild savings. If you lose a large portion of your investments in the stock market, that will have an immediate and detrimental effect on your financial well being.

A financial planner can be very helpful in determining what investments are right for your financial situation. But be careful whom you trust with your money. There are financial planners who work on a fee basis, not commission, so they won't be tempted to steer you into investments that make them a profit but may not be in your best interest.

Estate plan
Your estate plan is basically an exit strategy. It organizes your assets in such a way as to leave as much to your loved ones as possible. Estate taxes can be as high as 50% if your estate is valued at more than $1 million. If your estate is valued less than that, you can pass your assets to your loved ones without an estate tax. An estate planning attorney can help guide you through the complex laws regarding estate taxes.

Other aspects of estate plans deal with the creation of legal documents such as a will, power of attorney, testamentary letter and more, which are explained further in the legalities of elder care.

Relocation plan
Where will you live after retirement? This decision will be based on many factors including your financial situation, your physical abilities and your emotional attachments.

Financial concerns may influence you to sell your home and relocate. The sale of a home may provide extra income to increase your retirement budget. You may want to live in an area with lower living expenses or lower income taxes. Or, if you are in good financial shape, you may want to move into a nicer home.

You will also need to consider how long you will be able to physically maintain your home - keep it clean, maintain the yard and keep up with the repairs of the home.

How do you feel about where you live? Is it close enough to your family and loved ones? Think about what makes you feel comfortable, how your neighborhood is changing, how the weather affects you and other factors that you can't put into a calculator.