| Discuss any retirement plan you may have with your spouse or partner. |
Review your retirement budget. |
| Meet with a financial advisor, CPA and/or attorney to discuss retirement goals. |
Re-evaluate your sources of income, including your retirement plan distribution options. |
| Prepare a retirement budget and make sure it’s realistic considering inflation. |
Review the adequacy of your investment portfolio; Can you still retire in one year? |
| Compile pension, 401k and benefits information from your current and former employers. |
Choose your retirement date. |
| Consider consolidating your retirement assets, including former employers’ retirement plans or IRAs. |
Begin the necessary paperwork for any retirement benefits in your place of employment. |
| Determine whether you may need additional coverage for health care or long-term care. |
Consider consolidating retirement assets accumulated with former employers, various IRAs and eventually your current employer’s retirement plan. |
| Check your projected income in comparison to your projected expenses. |
Make any necessary changes to your asset allocation strategy. |
| Assess the adequacy of your investment portfolio. What’s your “retirement number?” |
If you will need any additional health care or long-term care insurance, now is the time to obtain it. |
| Increase your retirement plan contributions if necessary. |
Contact the Social Security Administration to apply for benefits ...three months prior to the date you want payments to begin... |
| If you resources allow, make catch-up contributions to your employer-sponsored retirement plan or IRA. |
Three months prior to your 65th birthday, sign up for Medicare. |
| Consider inflation. |
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