In one recent survey, half of the respondents told pollsters they guessed at how much they would need during retirement.
Retirement should never be a guessing game, because by the time retirement arrives, it’s a little late to correct one’s life course. Yet, many North Americans engage in dangerous wishful thinking.
Financial returns may vary with economic cycles, but they’re not magical numbers. They are a product of fairly predictable cycles. If one looks back over several decades, the patterns are similar in that one can always expect downturns and upturns.
So retirement planning must happen within a matrix of those cycles. No one on earth will escape the reality that economies fluctuate. That’s why retirement planning must take those inevitable ups and downs into account.
As we all know, after living through a rather steep peak and subsequent decline in the value of equities, retirement planning requires a stout heart. Regular contributions made in both good times and tough times grow a retirement account into an instrument that allows one to enjoy those golden years.
The second piece of the retirement formula is ensuring you have a diversified portfolio that includes a range of investments, as some economic sectors will grow, while others will decrease in value. We all know that throwing our entire fortune into one pot is risky.
If you’re not sure how to create the retirement recipe tailored to your lifestyle and goals, we can help you unlock the retirement formula that’s perfect for you.