I spend a great deal of my time in retirement reading about and thinking about retirement for those still on the financially secure retirement quest.
I am not a financial advisor and not certified in anything … I do have fifty-years of experience designing and managing employer retirement, health and other benefit plans.
Living on a pension and Social Security as I do, trying to finance retirement with investments is not my primary concern, but that’s not the case for most people who must save, invest, and then decide how to use those funds during a retirement of unknown duration while dealing with the vicissitudes of life without running out of money.
That’s a scary thought is it not?
My idea is that to meet these goals requires a combination of strategies to deal with the various challenges. And putting this strategy together is where expert advice is valuable.
Here are my thoughts. It is also what I do in my retirement, except my pension is my #5
REMEMBER, this is not a pick and choose list, but suggested all be used in combination.
- Save and invest with a combination of qualified and non-qualified accounts – to give you flexibility with withdrawals and to better deal with financial emergencies
- Save to generate some tax-free income in retirement – Roth investments & for some municipal bond mutual funds
- Consider dividend paying stocks – reinvest all dividends during working years and then use the income as necessary in retirement.
- Use life insurance as a tax free investment for a survivor and/or a legacy to others
- Consider an annuity (from a portion of investments) to assure a steady income stream along with Social Security
- Eliminate debt before retirement and avoid it to maximum extent possible during retirement
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
The item that gave me the most trouble in planning my retirement is not in your list. That was arranging a place to live during retirement. My wife and I wanted to keep living in Hawaii, where we worked, but it’s expensive here, and we really didn’t want to be in debt during retirement (agreeing with your #6).
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You are right that is a big issue, one I faced two years ago 8 years after I retired. I have written about that several times. Check me out on HumbleDollar.com where I have written about my experience. From a financial point of view though, I think a person should strive to be able to retire where they currently live unless they want to, but don’t need to relocate. If being forced to move because one retired to me means planning was a bit off course.
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Yes, and my wife and I did live and work in Hawaii, where we eventually retired.
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I enjoy reading your articles, and I find that your ideas to be very sound. I’m learning how important tax free income is during retirement; thanks for pointing that out.
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