Retirement planning can feel overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t have to be. By breaking it down into manageable steps, you can start building a framework that supports the future you envision. Whether you’re decades away from retirement or just a few years out, taking time now to evaluate your financial picture and long-term needs can help you move forward with greater clarity.
This blog covers some foundational areas to consider as you begin the retirement planning process.
Understand Your Retirement Timeline
One of the first steps in retirement planning is to identify your retirement timeline. Knowing when you hope to stop working can shape many of your decisions, including how much to save and how to invest.
- Short-term horizon (0–10 years away): If retirement is within the next decade, your focus may shift toward preserving your savings and reviewing potential income sources.
- Mid-term horizon (10–20 years): With more time on your side, you can evaluate strategies for increasing contributions, reassessing risk tolerance, and exploring potential healthcare costs.
- Long-term horizon (20+ years): Earlier in your career, you have a longer time frame to build and adjust your plan, including making adjustments to your savings rate and investment approach.
Each timeline comes with different considerations. Being realistic about your age, career plans, and desired retirement lifestyle will help you evaluate your next steps more clearly.
Take Inventory of What You Have
Before planning where you want to go, it’s important to know where you stand. Start by gathering details about all your financial resources. These resources may include:
- Current retirement accounts (401(k), IRA, etc.)
- Other savings and investments
- Pensions or annuities
- Real estate or rental income
- Social Security projections
Once you’ve compiled this information, it can be helpful to organize it in a table for quick reference. Here’s an example:
| Asset Type | Current Value | Owner | Tax Status |
| 401(k) | $180,000 | Self | Tax-deferred |
| Roth IRA | $75,000 | Spouse | Tax-free |
| Brokerage Account | $50,000 | Joint | Taxable |
| Rental Property Equity | $120,000 | Self | Varies |
| Savings Account | $15,000 | Joint | Taxable |
Updating this snapshot annually can help you track progress and identify gaps over time.
Estimate What You Might Need
Planning for retirement also involves estimating your future expenses. Think about how your lifestyle might change after you leave the workforce. While some costs (like commuting or buying work attire) may decrease, others (like travel or healthcare) may increase.
Here are some expense categories to consider as they may change during retirement:
- Housing (including mortgage, rent, property taxes, and maintenance)
- Utilities and home services
- Groceries and household needs
- Healthcare premiums and out-of-pocket expenses
- Insurance (health, life, home, auto)
- Transportation
- Hobbies, travel, and leisure
- Support for family members, if applicable
It can be useful to track your current spending for a few months to get a sense of your baseline. From there, you can adjust spending estimates based on how you envision your retirement lifestyle.
Know Your Income Sources
Once you have an estimate of what you’ll need, you can evaluate potential income sources in retirement. These could include:
- Social Security benefits
- Required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts
- Pensions (if available)
- Income from part-time work or consulting
- Rental income
- Dividends or interest from investments
While future income can be difficult to predict with precision, reviewing these options can give you a broad understanding of how your expenses may be supported.
Revisit and Adjust as Life Changes
Retirement planning isn’t a one-time event—it’s an ongoing process. Life changes like marriage, divorce, job transitions, inheritance, or health issues can shift your financial picture. As such, it’s important to revisit your plan periodically.
Here’s a list of checkpoints that can prompt a review:
- Major career change or new income source
- Paying off a mortgage
- Birth or adoption of a child
- Marriage, divorce, or loss of a spouse
- Significant investment changes
- Turning age 50, 59½, 62, or 65 (all important milestones for retirement planning)
Being flexible and responsive can help you stay aligned with your goals as circumstances evolve.
Starting your retirement plan today can help you move forward with more insight into your financial future. For support reviewing your options and getting started retiring with confidence and clarity, contact Vantage Point today.
Investment advisory services are offered through Vantage Point Financial, a registered investment adviser. Registration with any regulatory body does not imply any particular level of skill. This material is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, tax, or legal advice. Working with a financial planner does not ensure financial success or prevent loss. All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The scenarios presented are hypothetical and are intended for illustrative purposes only. They do not reflect actual client results and are not guarantees of future outcomes. Individual results will vary. Certain financial strategies may offer tax advantages, but outcomes depend on individual circumstances and are subject to change due to tax laws and other external factors. Vantage Point Financial does not provide legal or tax advice. Consult a tax professional. Retirement outcomes depend on a variety of factors, including individual savings behavior, market performance, health events, and other considerations. Certain statements herein may reflect the firm’s current views, expectations, or beliefs, which are subject to change without notice. For additional information about our services, fees, and disclosures, please refer to our Form ADV Part 2A, available at https://vantage-point.mwdevsite.com or upon request at no cost.
