Good Career Choices May Lead to an Improved Retirement
What is your most powerful tool for building retirement savings? Perhaps, your income. For that matter, the path of your career could influence when and how well your retirement begins.
Is there merit in changing jobs (or even careers) with an eye toward what the move might do for your retirement? One job may offer you a better type of employer-sponsored retirement savings account than another. One employer may offer to match your retirement savings account contributions, but another may not. (Fidelity says that the average employer match reached an all-time high of 4.7% last year.) Perhaps one workplace will offer you dedicated accounts to save toward health expenses.
Beyond these attractions, there is the potential of greater income, which not only boosts your retirement savings potential but may also positively influence your Social Security benefit calculation. Social Security determines your benefit through a formula that calculates your average monthly income during your 35 highest-paid working years, so changing jobs for better pay can potentially have both an immediate and future impact on your income.
If you want to stay where you are, then think about the positive effect a raise or a promotion might have on your present financial situation as well as your retirement prospects.[1,2]
Can You Actually Retire and Live on a Cruise Ship?
Data from the Cruise Lines International Association show that one-third of the people who board cruise ships are age 60 or older. Given enough retirement income and savings, could a couple of weeks at sea turn into a couple of months, years, or decades?
While The New York Times and Forbes have published features spotlighting retirees who have pulled off such a lifestyle, such stories are rare—but not unheard of. Some sailings, after all, last weeks, and taking things a few nautical miles farther, there is also The World, a 165-unit, 644-foot cruise ship that sails around the globe with permanent residents in tow.
As The Washington Post notes, a cheap cabin on a relatively inexpensive sailing may run as little as $50 a day, and many cruise lines offer discounts for passengers up for repeat business. Retirees with enough income, stable health, and a passion for travel might want to investigate the lifestyle.
One last note: Back in 2004, the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society calculated that the cost of a year aboard a mid-priced cruise ship was just about 15% more than the cost of a year of assisted living. Today, given the rise of assisted living costs, perhaps the cruise ship is even more competitively priced.[3]
On the Bright Side
According to Willis Towers Watson research, total retirement plan assets in the U.S. grew by 18.2% last year to $29.2 trillion. America held 62.5% of the world total of these assets by the end of 2019.[4]
Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. a Broker/Dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser.
Lighthouse Financial, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated.
This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty.
Citations
1 – cnbc.com/2019/06/10/this-is-the-average-401k-employer-match.html [6/10/19]
2 – ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10070.pdf [1/20]
3 – washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/01/23/did-you-know-you-could-retire-cruise-ship/ [1/23/20]
4 – pionline.com/retirement-plans/global-retirement-assets-jump-15-4673-trillion-thinking-ahead-institute [2/10/20]