How Does Your Retirement Dream Measure Up?

A recently released study by LearnVest asked Americans aged 25-54 how they envision retirement. The results were illuminating and perhaps reflective of the reality of today’s world. The bottom line? More people are looking forward to a modest beach bungalow than dreaming of island-hopping on their personal yacht. Here are some of the interesting numbers from the LearnVest survey.

• 40% expect to work part-time
• 34% don’t believe it’s possible to save enough for retirement today
• 19% expect to be pinching pennies during their Golden Years
• 50% say that student loan debt has prevented them from saving for retirement
• 25% expect to retire to a modest beach bungalow
• 2% want the yachting lifestyle

Striking a blow for rugged individualism, a full 59 percent of respondents believe that each person should be responsible for their own retirement. 28 percent wanted the government to take a more active role.

The main thing to keep in mind is that retirement planning isn’t going to happen by itself, and playing the lottery doesn’t qualify as a plan. While age and risk tolerance create a wide spectrum of approaches to retirement, there are a few things that everyone should be doing.

IRA Plan

There is no good excuse for not having an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). It’s actually sort of amazing that the government allows this kind of tax-free investing to continue but continue it does, so you should take advantage. In short, an IRA allows you to squirrel away pre-tax dollars for investment. Your nest egg will increase SIGNIFICANTLY in amount over the years. Yes, you do have to pay ordinary income tax when you withdraw the money to spend in retirement but the tax break you receive on the front end is a heck of a deal. It’s even better if you happen to work at a company where your employer matches contributions.

Income Properties

We’ve said it before. There simply is no better way to create wealth in America than to own a portfolio of income producing properties. In short, become a landlord. Real estate is the number one tax-favored investment asset around (a 1031 exchange is just one example). Tying a piece of real estate to a long-term, fixed-rate mortgage is such a good deal for the investor it should be illegal. The bank takes the risk, the tenant pays the loan, and you own the property when it’s all said and done. How ‘bout dem apples? (Image: Flickr | tiarescott)

The JasonHartman.com Team
"The Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors"