Financial Focus

Don’t Make These Mistakes in Retirement

By Mark Sonnier AAMS, Investment Representative
August 16, 2004

When you are starting out in your working life, or even when you're in the middle, you obviously don't want to make costly financial or investment mistakes. However if you do, you'll generally have time to recover from most of them.

But when you're entering retirement, or you've been retired for a while, you clearly have less margin for error. That's why you'll want to do everything you can to avoid some common mistakes made by retirees.

What are these missteps? Here are a few of the more serious ones:

Not investing for growth -

You can reasonably expect to live two or even three decades in retirement. And during all those years, inflation, even if it's relatively low, will erode your purchasing power.

For example, if you start out with $1,000, and we experience even a 4 percent inflation rate for the next 15 years, your purchasing power will shrink to just $549. So, just to break even, you'd need your investments to earn at least 4 percent.

Unfortunately, many retirees overlook the impact of inflation; as a result, they invest too conservatively. But even in retirement, you should earmark an appropriate portion of your portfolio for growth, based on your risk tolerance, time horizon and goals.

How? By looking for high-quality stocks - those with strong earnings records, solid management and competitive products. Of course, even these stocks will fluctuate in value and are subject to market risks, but if you make them part of an investment mix that contains bonds, CD's and government securities, you can help smooth out your portfolio's overall volatility. Remember, though, diversification does not protect against market loss.

Underestimating expenses -

Many people assume that their expenses will drop drastically during retirement. But that's just not true. While some work-related expenses may indeed go down, other costs will fill the void.

You may decide to travel, remodel your home, buy a vacation home - the list is endless. Also, as you move further into retirement, your medical costs will almost certainly rise.

If you do underestimate your living expenses, you may be forced to dip into your savings and investments more than you'd like. Furthermore, you might have to increase your taxable retirement plan withdrawals - a move that could bump you into a higher tax bracket.

The solution? Put a realistic "price tag" on your retirement - well before you retire.

Withdrawing money from the "wrong" source -

By the time you retire, you will have probably accumulated sizable sums in both taxable accounts (stocks, bonds, etc.) and tax-deferred accounts (IRA, 401(k). When you start taking the money out, you may want to withdraw funds from the taxable accounts first, so you can let your tax-deferred accounts continue the opportunity for growth as long as possible.

Taking a 50 percent late withdrawal penalty -

Sooner or later, you'll have to take withdrawals from your traditional IRA or your tax-qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b). If you don't start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs), once you reach age 70 1/2, you'll be penailzed 50% of what you should have taken, plus ordinary income tax.

However, at least in the case of your IRA, you do have a possible escape clause from taking RMDs. By converting your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA before you're 70 1/2, you'll pay taxes at the time of the conversion but you won't have to take RMDs.

To avoid these and other problems, you may want to work with a financial professional to develop a plan that spells out, among other things, how much you'll need to accumulate for your chosen retirement lifestyle and where the money will come from.

By taking action early, you can put yourself in position to enjoy all the possibilities that retirement offers.

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Mark Sonnier is an investment representative for Edward Jones. If you have an investment question or problem you would like Mark to address, you may reach him at (281) 332-8554 or 1025 East Main, Suite 102 in League City.