Will You be Outliving Your Retirement Savings and Income?

In most cases, there isn’t an easy yes or no answer to the question of whether or not you may outlive your retirement savings, mainly because no one can tell you the exact date as to when you will die. However, you can be reasonable and logical about the matter.

If you come from a family with a background of premature deaths, you will need to consider the likelihood of possibly dying earlier than much later.

A person that expects to live decades in their retirement rather than 6 or 10 years will plan their retirement quite differently than someone who is expecting to pass away sooner.

Life expectancy minus age in retirement equals your years in retirement.

Above is a formula to estimate how long you may live during your retirement.

Some of you may be asking how much will you earn in income while in retirement.

Federal workers under FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System ) tend to receive income from their pension, social security, and their TSP (Thrift Savings Plan). However, some retirees may receive income from other sources such as their 401(k), IRAs, Roth, real estate, and other business investments.

To get an estimate on how much you will receive from your FERS pension, the Retirement Benefits Institute has a calculator to help you determine what that amount may be.

Another thing to determine if you may outlive your retirement income is what your spending will be like during retirement. Anyone can quickly outlive their savings by using more than they bring in, so it is very crucial that you know what your budget needs to be.

It is suggested that you take some time to write out all the bills and other expenses you currently spend every month. For those that are close to retirement, you may want to consider diverting some of those spendings toward paying off any debt along with putting some money aside for extra luxuries such as purchasing gifts for others or vacations for yourself during retirement.

If you do not have one, it may be in your best interest to figure out a budget. Getting in the habit of it now will make things much easier when you transition into retirement, where a budget is very much needed for many retirees. This will also keep you on track from overspending your retirement income.

Though retirement planning can be a challenge, be sure to get it started as soon as possible rather than later so that you can be more assured that you will be prepared and assured that you will have a comfortable and prosperous retirement.