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Start Your Retirement Off on the Right Foot

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Retirement planning can be stressful because there are a lot of things to keep track of. One of the steps that often gets overlooked is announcing to your employer that you are going to retire. This may require writing a letter to explain your plans and goals for the future, while also choosing a date for your last day of work. It is a big step because it signifies the beginning of your retirement journey. So, to start your retirement off on the right foot, try taking some time beforehand to plan your announcement.

Before you start writing your letter and preparing your announcement, first make sure that you have qualified for all of your retirement benefits. This includes checking the amount of pension payments that you are eligible for, looking at your 401(k) plan, and thinking about when you will sign up for Social Security. Another important thing to consider doing before sending your letter, is making sure you have another form of health insurance to avoid any potential gaps in coverage. To help ensure that you are ready to receive your full retirement benefits, it may be a good time to talk with your trusted financial advisor about creating or updating your retirement plan.

After ensuring that all your retirement benefits are in place, it is then time to begin deciding on a retirement date. The key here is to try and give enough time for the company to fill your position, but also to not give more time than is necessary. Some companies could start excluding you from events or important meetings, or even ask you to leave sooner than you suggested. So, make sure that you’re well-prepared to have this tough conversation.

One of the most important aspects of the letter to include is some lines expressing your thanks and appreciation. Giving positive feedback is important to display gratitude to the company and show respect for all they have done for you. This can also be an opportunity to highlight some of your achievements and successes as an employee. Adding this in can help to leave a more favorable impression on the company, so remember, this is not the time to complain or air your grievances with your employer.

As you write your letter, try to start thinking about your future plans and goals. Do you want to consider working part-time or consulting? Are you willing to train a new employee to help with the transition? If so, then you may want to try explaining this to them. Your company may appreciate it if you can come back to help in the busy season or mentor a younger employee. It is also appropriate to tell them why you are leaving. Whether this is to spend time with grandchildren, travel, or care for a family member, your coworkers will be excited to hear about what your future holds.

This is a huge milestone in your life, and it is important that you put thought and care into your decision so that you can start your retirement off on the right foot. But, before you decide to send your letter, you should talk with a trusted financial professional about your personal goals and financial plan for the future. At Peak Financial Freedom Group, we’ll sit down with you one-on-one to discuss your goals, and to help put you on the right path towards achieving them. Click HERE to contact us today and to request your complimentary, no obligation financial review!

Finance Your Retirement Goals

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Finance Your Retirement Goals

As we get older, we start to think (and potentially worry) more and more about where our retirement income will come from. After you leave your job and begin on the journey of retirement, you will rely heavily on guaranteed sources of income. For most people, they assume this will be mainly collecting Social Security. However, there are many other sources that could be the key to living a comfortable retirement lifestyle and finding what works best for you, so that you can help finance your retirement goals. But, also remember that financing them is only one part to the equation, as you have to make certain that you stay focused on your retirement goals.

If you started planning early, you may be able to use your 401(k)s and IRAs to help create a sustainable and dependable source of retirement income. Unfortunately, most Americans have not put enough of their savings into these accounts to rely on them, but there are plenty of other ways to make up the difference and make sure that your bills are paid for with money to spare. One of these ways is with taxable investments. The most important step with investments such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, is making sure that you diversify your portfolio. How are you dealing with market risk? The benefits of basic diversification can help you to have all of your assets accounted for, while making sure that they all aren’t moving in the same direction all the time.

If you are fortunate to live a long retirement, you also should make sure that your money will last as long as you do. One way to make money in retirement is by selling things you no longer need or renting unused rooms in your home. Renting gives you a steady income each month while selling goods that you no longer need can help clear out clutter and give you some extra cash. You can even expand to online selling platforms such as eBay or Craigslist or sell handmade crafts on a website like Etsy. Lastly, some retirees decide to pick up a part time job. This helps with retirement income, but also can be a great way to spend some time doing what you love. When retirees go back to work part-time, it can be much more relaxing than their full-time positions, thus giving them an opportunity to work in a low stress environment and meet new people.

At Peak Financial Freedom Group, we believe that a successful retirement first starts off with a solid, customized retirement plan. We’ll work together to go over your financial plan to help discover how to best finance your retirement goals for the long road ahead.

Things to Love About Retirement

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Things to Love About Retirement

There’s a lot of things to love about working. You can love your job, your coworkers, and even the daily routine that a standard 9-to-5 job offers. The feeling of work is safe for most people. After over 35 years, you most likely know what you’re doing and you’re probably very good at it. For these reasons, retirement can seem overwhelming to some people. The fear of the unknown is scary and there may still be challenges that await you, but there are also so many things to love about retirement!

First things first, you have more freedom once you retire. So, imagine never having to sit in rush hour traffic, racing to make it to your 9am meeting again or being able to jump on a cross country flight on a whim. You have no deadlines and no morning alarm to answer to. With this, you lose the competitive aspect of a full-time position. You are no longer vying for another promotion or bonus, you finally have time to relax.

There are plenty of other ways to fill your time in retirement. You can join a club or spend time with your children and grandchildren. Some retirees even decide to work part-time or do consulting work on the side. Whatever it may be, there are plenty of different ways to continue earning income during retirement.

But, if these things don’t interest you, retirement is also a great time to catch up on culture. You can sit back with Netflix or some old DVD’s, and catch up on the shows and videos you were too busy to watch while you were working. Retirement is also a great time to give back. You can coach a little league team or volunteer at a soup kitchen. Another idea is becoming a tutor at a local college or university. Giving back can be very rewarding knowing that you are sharing your knowledge and skills with others.

Whatever you decide to do, it’s important that you are living out your dreams, and focusing on your personal goals. This is your time to finally do the things that you always talked about, but never had time for. Write a book, learn to cook, or maybe even travel on a European river cruise. This is the time that you worked so hard for, and as scary as it can be, it can also be great.

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the idea of retirement, then it may be time to talk to a financial professional who can sit with you and make sure that your retirement plan is complete. CLICK HERE to contact us and schedule a complimentary, no obligation financial review! AtPeak Financial Freedom Group, we can help you update your plan so that you can feel more secure about heading off on your next great journey in discovering all the things to love about retirement.

Use Proper Planning to Help Determine Your Retirement Budget

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Use Proper Planning to Help Determine Your Retirement Budget

The age-old question remains, what percent of your salary do you really need for retirement? Will you need 60% or 90%? Most people think that a reasonable number for retirement is around 70% of their salary. However, the reason people think that this number sounds right, is because it’s the most common guess that people come up with. But, your retirement income shouldn’t be based off of random guessing, you should consider using numbers and proper planning to help determine your retirement budget, and to figure out just how much money you will need based on your personal goals, expected lifestyle and expenses.

When you end up doing the math and proper planning, it will likely turn out that you need much more of your income to live comfortably in retirement, than you had originally anticipated. In some cases, it may be twice the amount that you originally thought, which makes it nearly impossible to prepare for your retirement income without proper planning and saving. The reason that you need so much more money in retirement is because you have more free time to spend your money. And, not to mention the fact that you’ll no longer be earning that steady paycheck. If you worked a 9 to 5 before retiring, then you likely had 8 hours a day where you probably weren’t spending too much money. This time may also have come with perks, like free travel or happy hours sponsored by your employer. Once you are retired, you must fill those hours with activities in which costs can add up quickly. That’s why it’s important to try and keep an eye on your expenses and retirement budget for the long road ahead.

After you begin to get a sense of what activities you’ll be doing during your free time, the first step to figuring out your retirement income is deciding your preferences. There is a big difference from living luxuriously to living modestly. You must budget if you will be going out to eat five nights a week or only one, and decide whether you will be ordering expensive wine or tap water with your meal. To try and better gauge how much money you will need for certain activities, you can break down your spending into seven categories; eating out, digital services, recharge, travel, entertainment and shopping, and basic needs. By setting a budget for yourself within each of these categories, it can help give you a better picture of your spending patterns in retirement.

Take the first step today by clicking HERE to schedule your no cost, no obligation review. Once you decide what your dream retirement looks like, you can get started on fulfilling those dreams by creating a financial plan that takes these dreams and your personal goals into account. At Peak Financial Freedom Group, we can help you figure out how much money you will really need for retirement, and align your actions with your intentions through an actionable and customized plan.

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Roseville, CA 95661
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All of the information presented here is provided and intended to be used for general educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a solicitation for you to buy or sell any security or financial product. The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. None of the information presented is intended to give you specific tax, investment, real estate, legal, estate, or financial advice but rather to serve as an educational platform to deliver information. The ideas, thoughts, and strategies presented here are those of the Management Team and provide an insight to our views on Peak Financial Freedom Group, LLC. Some of this material was developed and produced by Peak Financial to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. Every detail in this website is subject to change without notice. Seminar, radio shows, TV productions, book releases, magazine and book promotions are sponsored, promoted and paid for by Peak Financial Freedom Group, LLC.

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2019(1), 2020(2), 2021(3), 2022(4), 2023 (5) and 2024 (6) Five Star Professional Wealth Manager Award - Dan Ahmad and Jim Files have been nominated for and have won the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Five Star Wealth Manager Awards. Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. Once awarded, wealth managers may purchase additional profile ad space or promotional products. Award does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The Five Star award is not indicative of the wealth manager’s future performance. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by Five Star Professional or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by Five Star Professional in the future. Award winners represent an exclusive group of wealth managers who have demonstrated excellence in their field by satisfying 10 objective selection criteria. For additional information on the Five Star award, including a complete list of the 10 objective selection criteria and their research/selection methodology, go to https://fivestarprofessional.com.

Investment advisory services are offered through Fiduciary Solutions, LLC, a California Registered Investment Advisor. Insurance products and services are offered through PFFG Insurance Agency LLC, a licensed insurance agency (CA Insurance License #0N14013). Peak Financial Freedom Group LLC is a financial planning and umbrella marketing organization, which enables the provision of multiple financial services under one brand. Peak Financial Freedom Group LLC, PFFG Insurance Agency LLC, and Fiduciary Solutions LLC are affiliated entities with common ownership and control. Jim Files is licensed as an investment adviser representative with Fiduciary Solutions LLC (CRD # 1620449) and is a licensed insurance producer with PFFG Insurance Agency LLC (CA Insurance License #0F06511). Dan Ahmad is licensed as an investment adviser representative with Fiduciary Solutions LLC (CRD # 1491561) and is a licensed insurance producer with PFFG Insurance Agency LLC (CA Insurance License #0732913).

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