We're coming into the busiest time of year, and naturally, your schedule may be filling up with family gatherings, delicious food, and year-end adventures.
Before you get consumed by holiday parties and egg nog, take a moment and ask yourself these three questions to make sure you are ringing in the New Year knowing your retirement plan is in good order and up to date.
Click below to download our Annual Retirement Check-Up Infographic:
As the year comes to a close, now is a great time to review your retirement account and strategy. Here are three key questions to ask yourself to help ensure everything is in good order going into the new year.
Do you want to revisit your savings rate? Have you confirmed your beneficiaries? An annual check-up for your retirement savings MoneyNav as the year comes to a close, now is a great time to review your retirement account and strategy. Here are three key questions to ask yourself to help ensure everything is in good order going into the new year. Visit MoneyNav to learn more about the financial resources available to you. Throughout the year, your investment allocation and needs may change. We recommend reviewing your account at least once per year to make sure your money is invested in a manner that best fits your unique goals. Depending on how your investments have performed, you may be exposing your assets to more or less risk than appropriate. When reviewing your investment strategy, the two main factors to consider are your tolerance for risk and how many years until you plan on using the funds (or your “time horizon”).
Remember, the longer your time horizon, the more you may be able to weather the ups and downs in the market. However, if you anticipate needing the funds in the near-term future, you might want to make sure you aren’t taking on too much risk.
Finally, if you aren’t sure how much risk you are willing to take on, login to your account at www.mymoneynav.com to complete a brief quiz that can help you figure out what type of investor you are.
With the year-end, you might have seen a bump in your pay. With the extra dollars coming in, consider increasing your savings rate for your retirement as well. If you haven’t already done so, you can also run a quick calculation through the MyMoneyNav platform to get an estimate for how much you will need and have in retirement based on your current age, savings rate, and the amount already saved.
If you find you are a little behind on your retirement savings, increasing your contribution rate by even just 1% or 2% per year can go a long way toward getting you back on track, and without feeling too painful on your wallet today.
Did you know that the beneficiaries you list on your retirement account will overrule those listed in your will? If you experienced any major life changes within the past 12 months, such as getting married or having a child, we highly recommend you take a minute to confirm the beneficiaries listed for your retirement plan are still up-to-date.