Ready for Retirement? This Retirement Planning Checklist from Davis Nursing Homes in Wilmington NC Can Help

Retirement can mean a dramatic change in lifestyle for many Americans. When it comes to making this transition, the better prepared you are for it, the more satisfying and comfortable you can expect your retirement to be.

At Davis Community n ursing homes in Wilmington NC, we want you to be fully prepared for your new found freedom so we have created this simple retirement planning checklist to help you prepare for life’s next chapter.

5 Years Prior to Retirement

Retirement planning should ideally be an ongoing process from the time one starts working, but understandably that isn’t always the case. For many, retirement sneaks up on them and before they know it, they’re retired. If you haven’t been thinking about your retirement but it is coming up, then you should start planning at least five years before the actual event. Here are some things you should do five years prior to retiring:

–Choose your ideal retirement date
–Define what kind of lifestyle you want to have when you retire
–Invest as much as you can reasonably afford into your 401(k)
–Assess the financial risks of retirement (including life expectancy, inflation, withdrawal rates, rising healthcare costs, etc.)
–Assess your future health care needs
–Review your retirement benefits and learn about the retirement process at your place of work
–Learn about Social Security and determine what benefits you will be eligible for

3 Years Prior to Retirement

As retirement grows near, it will become time to assemble your retirement plan. This should preferably be done about three years before your retirement date and this process includes:

–Review your retirement details at work once again so you remain familiar with them
–Look over your finances, develop your post-retirement income stream and create a budget for retirement
–Start researching long-term care insurance if you don’t already have it

1 Year Prior to Retirement

In the year prior to your retirement, you should be focusing on putting your retirement plan into action. This will include:

–Consolidating your retirement accounts to make it easier to manage your money
–Set up automatic direct deposits for all of your retirement income sources
–Set up automatic bill pay through your bank for all critical expenses like insurance premiums, utilities and mortgage
–Contact the U.S. Social Security Administration and file the appropriate paperwork
–Contact the retirement plan coordinator at your place of work to start the process of arranging for your estimated retirement payouts
–Finalize your retirement withdrawal strategy so you know how much you need to withdraw from your monthly payments to cover your expenses
–Activate your post-work healthcare coverage and/or work-related retiree health benefits

Consider Nursing Homes in Wilmington NC

For many retirees, making the move to nursing homes in Wilmington NC not only makes better financial sense for their consolidated lifestyles, but doing so also helps them to make new friends, experience fun and exciting events, and become part of an engaging community of like-minded people. Unlike nursing homes of the past, today’s nursing homes are active adult communities with a concentration of health, wellness and community. If you think that a nursing home/retirement community sounds like a good fit for your retirement, contact Davis Community today at 910.686.7195 or simply complete and submit our online request form.