{"id":7450,"date":"2014-02-28T10:11:03","date_gmt":"2014-02-28T18:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marketriders.com\/investing\/?p=7450"},"modified":"2016-12-21T07:28:09","modified_gmt":"2016-12-21T15:28:09","slug":"four-pillars-retirement-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketriders.com\/investing\/four-pillars-retirement-income\/","title":{"rendered":"The Four Pillars of Your Retirement Income"},"content":{"rendered":"

A television commercial on the air these days asks people on the street (played by actors) a fairly direct\u00a0retirement\u00a0question:\u00a0Will you outlive your money<\/a>?<\/p>\n

It might seem impossible to answer. Who really knows how long they will live, never mind the ups and downs of the investing world?<\/p>\n

Yet you can know some things, such as how much income you are likely to have in\u00a0retirement. Once you calculate that, it’s not that hard to derive the rest from\u00a0longevity tables<\/a>, along with\u00a0historic inflation and\u00a0market returns<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"retirement<\/a><\/p>\n

But income is the first step. After you stop working, how much money you have coming in each month will determine not only your lifestyle but the likelihood of that money lasting as long as you need it to last.<\/p>\n

So, first things first. Let’s estimate your\u00a0retirement\u00a0income. There are four pillars here, not all of which might apply to your situation:<\/p>\n

1. Social\u00a0Security<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s getting a lot easier to figure out your income from Social\u00a0Security\u00a0contributions over the years. The government has long mailed out annual estimates, but now you can go online and look up your current\u00a0retirement\u00a0income analysis any time you like.<\/p>\n

Go to\u00a0My Social Security<\/a>\u00a0and create an account. It will take a few steps to identify you at first, but it’s worthwhile. From there, you can easily see what the Social\u00a0Security\u00a0Administration currently believes you will receive at early\u00a0retirement\u00a0(age 62), full\u00a0retirement\u00a0(67) and at age 70, the latest age at which you can file for income benefits.<\/p>\n

2. Pensions and annuities<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is increasingly unusual for American retirees, but if you work or worked in the past for a government agency or a large corporation, you might have a\u00a0pension plan<\/a>\u00a0waiting for you. Likewise, you may have purchased an annuity product as part of a life insurance package.<\/p>\n

You can learn the ultimate monthly and annual income values of such plans by directly contacting the plan administrators. You should be getting an annual or quarterly update on them as well. If not, make sure they know where you live and how to contact you.<\/p>\n

3. Portfolio holdings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Income from investments can be tricky. A lot of financial advisers like to suggest that\u00a04% is a “safe” amount of money to withdraw<\/a>\u00a0from a conservatively invested portfolio. However, like investing itself, income from investments is a moving target.<\/p>\n

We’ve written in the past about\u00a0powerful online retirement income calculators<\/a>. The important point is to make sure that your calculations include income from the other three pillars here, and that you stay smart about income taxes in\u00a0retirement\u00a0as well.<\/p>\n

4. Working<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s easy to give up and say, “I’ll just work forever!” But if you know what to expect from the previous three income sources, it might change your attitude toward what work you choose to continue doing and for how long.<\/p>\n

For instance, rather than seeking part-time work year-round, your income from Social\u00a0Security, a pension and investments might create an opportunity to work seasonally and perhaps travel off-season. Balancing work and play is no less important in\u00a0retirement\u00a0as it was during your full-time working life.<\/p>\n

In the end, a good\u00a0retirement\u00a0must be managed, much like a good career and\u00a0a good long-term savings and investment plan<\/a>. Once you add up all of the potential income sources, things often start to look better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A television commercial on the air these days asks people on the street (played by actors) a fairly direct\u00a0retirement\u00a0question:\u00a0Will you outlive your money? It might seem impossible to answer. Who … Read more →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":7451,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[42,43,37],"yoast_head":"\nThe Four Pillars of Your Retirement Income | MarketRiders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"First things first. Let's estimate your retirement income. 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