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For the Baby Boomers and Midlifers, this October – the Month of The Harvest Moon!: The focus is on Planning for Retirement. We’re talking about finance, and lifestyle choices. Planning for those days when after all your hard work you can “harvest” the rewards – whether that means travel, time, golf, or doing just what you want with your life.

Guest author Tyrone Charles Solee shares what NOT to do.

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9 Retirement Planning Mistakes

Guest Author: Tyrone Charles Solee

Retirement years are one of the best years in one’s life most especially if you’ve already worked for almost all your entire life. It’s the time to savor the fruits of your labor. It’s time to relax, to free yourself from worries and enjoy the remaining years of your life.

Most people commit mistakes in planning for their retirement years. In the end, they have not successfully retired themselves from work and would either depend on the income of their children to support their needs.

Here are some of the most common retirement planning mistakes people commit:

Depend on the government. The biggest faulty assumption most people commit is that social security and Medicare will take care all of their financial and medical needs in retirement most especially to those citizens of First World Countries that gives huge subsidies to their locals. Definitely, here in our country, you shouldn’t be relying to these government aided benefits as these are not sufficient to sustain your needs during retirement.

Fail to set a goal. If you are serious in planning for your retirement, then set a goal on how to achieve it. A lot of people have never done a calculation to see how much money they will really need to live in retirement. People often overestimate how much annual income their nest egg will provide.

Expect a short retirement. Typically, people underestimate their longevity, how much money they’ll actually need in retirement and at what age they are eligible for full Social Security benefits.

When planning for your retirement, don’t assume that you’ll die soon. I’m not really sure as to what age most men and women die on average but I think nowadays, women have longer life span than men. Possibly, consider living at most up to age 80 for men and 90 for women.

Overlook medical costs. Many people feel that their employer or Medicare will take care of all of their retiree medical needs, including long-term care. The truth is that most of us will be responsible for our own medical care costs after retirement. Unplanned-for medical bills can wipe out a retirement nest egg in a fairly short time.

Forget about inflation. When planning for retirement, don’t forget to consider inflation. Because of inflation, your money will buy less in the future. You must therefore plan saving and investments accordingly.

Underestimate taxes. Don’t underestimate taxes when you retire. It does not mean that when you retire, you can now totally get rid of taxes which used to eat up a portion of your income when you’re still working.

Carry too much debt. Large amounts of debt can torpedo savings efforts. You may earn 6% on your savings, and yet you may pay 10% on your debt.

Expect to keep working. Many people assume they’ll be able to work forever. Yet many retire earlier than planned due to company downsizing or medical problems. So don’t expect that you’ll be able to work forever.

Wait to start saving. The longer you wait to save, the more you will need to save each year. It’s not impossible, but you may need to save a lot more money and retire later than you’d hoped.

So plan your retirement properly and avoid these retirement planning mistakes.

Tyrone Solee is a personal finance blogger with interests on entrepreneurship, personal finance, investments, and self-motivation in order to achieve success and financial goals in life. Visit: http://www.millionaireacts.com

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