You have had your dream retirement in the back of your mind your entire life.

Whether that movie in your head shows you traveling to exotic lands, spending quality time with your grandchildren, or turning a lifelong hobby into a business, retirement isn’t the end of your story. It’s the beginning of an exciting new sequel.

But how do you make the retirement of your imagination a reality? For many, bringing their ideal retirement to life includes consulting with a financial professional who specializes in retirement planning services.

If you have a nest egg, you have experience in personal finance. Earning an income and saving for a “rainy day.” Building wealth in equity markets, and putting away money into a 401(k), IRA, or other retirement account.

But those are all actions on the front side of retirement—called the accumulation phase. The backend? It's known as the distribution phase, or how you draw retirement income from those assets accumulated over many years.

How you prepare for reliable income streams in retirement will determine if you live out the retirement of your dreams -- or possibly deal with some scaled-down version.

Finding the right retirement planning services can help strengthen your chances of a confident lifestyle.

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Thanks to progress in healthcare and technology, you may expect to have a long retirement. But living to 100? While a lofty milestone, it’s not as out of reach as it may seem.

In 2014, U.S. government statisticians found that the number of people reaching age 100 had increased 40% from four years prior. And by 2050, the “100 and up” crowd is expected to grow to 3.68 million people worldwide.

Given the reality of lengthening lifespans, it’s no wonder why outliving retirement money remains a top concern. In a 2017 Allianz Life survey, almost two-thirds of surveyed Americans (63%) said they worried about running out of money in retirement more than death!

Financial planners and advisors call this chance of outliving your money a “longevity risk.” Building a well-defined retirement strategy will help you guard against this hazard, not to mention enjoy more financial peace of mind in your golden years.

Building a Financially Confident Retirement Lifestyle

A rock-solid plan will lay out how you maintain your lifestyle with the retirement income and assets at your disposal.

Whether someone lives to 100, goes beyond, or simply faces the prospect of a long-time retirement, the importance of managing your income and expenses also can’t be overstated. And it’s equally important to recognize that income alone doesn’t solve all problems in retirement if you don’t have a plan.

To help you plan for these golden years on the expense side of the ledger, we have assembled some general guidelines. For illustration, here’s an idea of typical expenses you might expect as you go through the three stages of retirement:

• Go-Go, 60-75: Just starting out, fit as a fiddle, traveling and living the dream
• Slo-Go, 75-90: Grandkids are growing up, may be time to consider selling the house or downsizing
• No-Go, 90+: Hung up your traveling shoes, every day is a blessing
  
  

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