4 Steps to Developing Your Retirement Income Plan

The #1 Roadblock preventing many people from ever creating a successful retirement strategy is visualizing life without having to work.

Most struggle to visualize life after no longer needing to get up for work in order to feed the family, pay the mortgage, etc.

The result?  Frustration.

And, the anxiety that goes hand in hand with not knowing what lies ahead.

Whether it is imminent or even some time from now, envisioning your retirement lifestyle is the first step towards building your Retirement Income Roadmap.

Estimating how much you'll spend in retirement is the next biggest hurdle to overcome:

Will you require less than you did during your peak earning years?  After all, you've put the kids through school and you no longer have a mortgage.

Or, do you think you might actually spend more?  Especially in those first few years when you finally take that 6 week European/Asian/wherever vacation you've been dreaming of, plus anything else you've always wanted to do and now finally have the time to do.

Estimating expenses is the second step towards building your Retirement Income Roadmap.

Step three, turning on the income tap to cover essential expenses and to fund discretionary expenses for your retirement plan requires:

- Identification of which retirement assets to use first and which to defer

- Layering of your retirement income

- Navigation of the tax brackets

Finally, consider how a child's wedding, an illness in the family or market fluctuations can affect your overall finances and future.

Getting in the habit of reviewing your retirement plan at least annually, or whenever there's a change to your situation, can be the most important ongoing step (four) to keeping your retirement vision on track.