The 12 Worst Reasons To Ignore Planning For Retirement

They say money can’t buy happiness. As a financial planner, I imagine being broke is miserable. Given a choice, let’s at least strive for financial freedom.  Either way, here are the 12 worst reasons for you to ignore retirement planning. Admit it, you’ve probably said a few of these over the years.

Reason #12:  “I don’t have the time to deal with planning for retirement.”

Today, it seems we are all busier than ever, and there is never enough time to get around to developing a retirement plan. If you try and do it yourself, the process can take even longer. If you keep procrastinating, you will never find the time because we all seem to get busier as we age. If you never get started, you will never get any closer to becoming financially independent and able to retire securely.

Reason #11:  “I don’t need to plan for my future.”

Even if you are a multi-millionaire, you will benefit from a comprehensive retirement plan, and you can be proud of your hard work building up a nice nest egg. Do you know how much money you will actually need to accumulate for it to last the rest of your life? Have you thought about how you will take distributions from your retirement accounts? Will managing your investments, when you retire, ruin your envisioned golden years? Have you planned to minimize taxes in retirement? For those who answered “No” to any of those questions, now would be a great time to contact an independent financial planner to help get your retirement on track.

Reason #10:  “There is no hope of me having an amazing retirement.”

For many people, the dream retirement seems impossible to obtain. No matter how old, or young, you are, there is always room to be proactive and improve your chances of a secure retirement. Even if you are retired, you may be able to increase your retirement income by reducing taxes or being more strategic with your spending.

Reason #9:  “I’m going to win the lottery!”

I wish you all the best, but that is not a great retirement plan. Someday, someone will buy a lottery ticket on their 65th birthday and be able to retire. The odds are not looking good for that person to be you.

Reason #8:  “I’m young; retirement is decades away.”

Today is the best day to start saving for retirement. The next best day is tomorrow. Starting early will make it easier and less painful to make contributions to your 401(k) or other tax-favored retirement accounts. Plus, you will have more time to let compound interest work its magic.

Let youth be your advantage and start saving for retirement now. Believe me; you will be older before you know it.

Reason #7:  “I’m expecting a big inheritance.”

As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.  You may have wealthy parents, or you may not. If your case is the former, keep in mind that people are living longer today than ever before. Therefore, it’s quite possible that you could reach retirement age before your parents pass. They could also spend decades in retirement and spend down much more of your inheritance than expected.

Reason #6:  “The Government will take care of me.”

Good luck with this one. According to the New York Times, the current President is open to potentially cutting Medicare, Social Security, and other entitlement programs. Yes, they are called entitlement programs even though you paid taxes, every year, specifically for each program.

Even without cuts, I don’t think most of you would want to try and live solely off Social Security. Are you aware that Social Security benefits can be taxed?

Reason #5:  “My finances are a mess.”

Your finances may be a mess today, but they don’t have to stay that way. With some professional guidance, you should be able to get your financial house in order and keep it that way.

Reason #4: “I don’t want to think about getting older and retiring.”

If that sounds like you, change the narrative. You will need to plan ahead to retire early. Then, you can travel more or live a more relaxed and happier life. No more commuting to work or dealing with that annoying coworker who clips his toenails at his desk.

Reason #3:  “I’ll be fine; I have some money saved.”

The more you make and spend, the more you will need to have invested to maintain your standard of living in retirement. If you’ve developed a substantial nest egg, pat yourself on the back. Will your life savings be enough to live off the rest of your life? Is there anything else you could be doing to receive more income in retirement or pay fewer taxes on your retirement income?

Choosing to retire without a plan for retirement income distributions can be a huge mistake. While you may think you know everything you need to know to live happily ever after, many people find that all this complicated tax planning and retirement planning stuff is way harder to manage than they thought it would be. If you run out of money, what then? Wouldn’t it be great to have the reassurance that can come with the guidance of a trusted fiduciary financial planner?

Reason #2:  “I can’t afford to even get started with a great financial plan.”

When I started, I saved just $25, per month, into a Roth IRA. I thought I’d never be able to continue saving that amount, but the reality was, I didn’t even miss the money. Before I knew it, I was contributing the maximum allowable amount into my Roth IRA each year. Then, I began contributing to a 401(k) once I got a big boy job.

For those of you who spend more than you make, something will need to change. If you never start building up a retirement nest egg, your net worth will never grow. There is nothing fabulous about living in constant credit card debt. Start small, and you will be surprised how quickly those little contributions can add up.

Reason #1:  “I have no idea what to do.”

Personally, I think that is one of the biggest reasons people aren’t doing anything to get on track for an amazing retirement. You don’t have to know everything there is about retirement planning to get started. You don’t even need to know when you want to retire. Who knows what inflation rates will be over the next 40 years or what your health/career/marital status or taxes will be.

That being said, if you don’t win the lottery or get a huge inheritance, you will need to be saving money over time to build wealth. Doing all of the financial planning on your own may be a huge time commitment and require a great deal of research. If you’ve been putting off financial planning because you aren’t sure where to start or what to do next, consider speaking with someone who can take the load off your shoulders:  like a professional financial planner.

There are so many reasons people put off planning for retirement. The aforementioned are just 12 of my favorites. For those who wish to have a fabulous retirement, you should develop a financial roadmap to make those goals a reality. Please do it now. Procrastination is not your friend, and it won’t be any easier a few years down the road.

This article was written by David Rae from Forbes and was legally licensed by AdvisorStream through the NewsCred publisher network.