Category: Retirement

Most people refer to their retirement savings as their “retirement nest egg”. In theory that’s the money that is made up from the many sources of retirement income, the many eggs you should be socking away so that when the time comes, you have those eggs to “cook up” a great retirement. I say “should” because reality is that an awful lot of people are leaving their cupboard bare and for a million reasons are not preparing for retirement at all. In fact, I am ashamed to say I have friends and relatives who are in their prime earning years and still have not saved a single penny for retirement!

So much for having a very sage financial blogger in your inner circle!

You may have ignored retirement when in your 20’s or 30’s, but when you are still saying “la, la, la, la, la” about it in your 40’s and 50’s, you are in a boat that is sinking fast. So right now is a good time to take a good hard look at your retirement nest egg and start bailing!

Retirement represents the end of one’s career, but it doesn’t have to be the end of your financial security. It also doesn’t have to mean a lower quality of life. Your decision of where to retire can make a big difference. There are still several good retirement options throughout the United States and if you had to make an educated guess about where, you would probably score fairly high on this little test. You just have to know what you want and what is being offered to you and connect those dots.

So what are the best retirement spots in the U.S. today and why are they so good?

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I seem to write about retirement a lot these days and frankly I’d say it’s because I am one of them…the retired, that is. From my perspective, it’s pretty easy to see a path leading way back to my youth that is a good one to get safely here. But the problem seems to be always the same, most 20 somethings—and for that matter 30, 40, and even 50 somethings—just never do the work to get where they want and need to be: ready for retirement. That’s why we need to talk about investing for 20 somethings, even if retirement feels like it’s eons away.

I say it all the time and it is so true: start saving for your retirement as soon as you latch on to your very first job! That means that you should start saving early. Make regular contributions to your employer-sponsored 401(k) plan, and even get their big generous company match.

Given that most Americans feel they need to catch up on their retirement savings, this will keep you ahead of the game. But is there anything else you can do to secure your financial future? The simple answer is yes!

Let’s face facts here. Millions of people are out of work right now and despite the mantra of “we gotta get back to work” being chanted by everyone, the truth is that many jobs will be permanently lost even as we reopen the country. Businesses are closing for good all over the place and larger ones are cutting back, if not closing. Businesses are changing and becoming much more quickly tech driven and that means many older workers may no longer have the skills they need to adapt to a changing work environment. It all means that “retirement” may be the only real viable road for many after the COVID-19 pandemic. An unplanned early retirement.

This Year 2020

More people will retire this year than in any year I can recall. Some of that is because of the pandemic. The forced job loss and the mere fact that many just won’t be able to find work again, especially older workers, will push the number higher.