Some Support • Late Career/Retirement • Goal 4:
Plan for Financial Needs in Retirement
Action step 1.
Evaluate savings plans and needs for the future.
You may need to reevaluate existing savings plans and budgets to stay within your financial means after retirement. Planning for future expenses and developing a safety net for unexpected ones can provide financial security.
Resources
Words to know
Action step 2.
Plan for additional income sources.
There may be options for additional income sources as you age, depending on multiple factors. Exploring any qualifying pensions or retirement funding like 401(k)s could help provide an income source. If your cost of living requires more funds, you may need to consider taking on a part time job.
Resources
Words to know
Action step 3.
Explore and improve credit score.
By the time you retire, you have probably been building your credit score for decades. In fact, senior citizens tend to have the best credit scores of any generation. However, that doesn’t mean that you can completely let down your guard regarding credit.
Staying on top of your credit history can help you avoid fraud, borrow emergency funds, cosign a loan for a child or grandchild and navigate other life changes.
To maintain or build a good credit score, make sure you pay bills on time, pay down any credit card debt and don't close credit card accounts with a long, solid history.
Resources
Words to know
Action step 4.
Educate yourself on common scams.
Unfortunately, scammers are a part of everyday life. You may get a phone call, letter or email saying you owe money to a company and need to send funds immediately or else risk jail time. This is an example of a common money scam that many people fall for every year.
People might also contact you phishing for your personal information, like your social security number, password or credit card information, to steal your identity. Educating yourself on these scams can help save you money, time and trouble in the end. To avoid falling for a scam, remember these helpful tips:
- Don’t give anyone your personal information, like your address, ID number, password or social security number.
- Never send anyone your banking or credit card information, even if they seem to be calling from your bank. Remember that your bank will never contact you asking for private information.
- Never send money to anyone you meet online.
- Never click on links to websites you don’t recognize, as they may take you to a website that will compromise your computer’s security.
