As we continue to grow and get older, so do our parents. My mother turned 60 this year, and it’s crazy to think that she will be at the retirement age soon. As loving children, we want to make sure that our parents are prepared for retirement. We want to ensure that their dollars will stretch. In order to retire, there will be some things that they will need to do to prepare. Below are some tips to help get them ready for retirement.
Prepare for a drop in income
When your parents retire, they will experience a decline in income if they are not prepared. Heck, there is a chance that they will experience a slight drop in income regardless, so it’s a good idea to get ready for it. A good place to start with is the budget. Once they know that their income is going to change, they can prepare by getting a budget together that will allow them to make adjustments. If they are having a problem with their budget, volunteer to help them if they need it.
Professional Help
The next thing your parents should do is seek expert help from a financial adviser. The adviser can help them take a realistic look at retirement. They will be able to calculate and tell them when it looks best for them to take that step. The adviser will also be able to help them with projected income and a budget.
The financial adviser can also help with making sure that they are getting all the benefits that they are entitled to. Benefits can be very tricky. Some of them have different rules and different times that you can claim them. It’s good to have someone that will be there to help them.
Possible Part-Time Work
When most people retire, they don’t want just to sit around the house and wait to die. This is the time for your parents to tap into hobbies and skills that they weren’t able to do when they had to work 9-5 every day. To help bring some more retirement income in, your parents may want to take on some odd jobs. Here are a few options.
- Teaching music or art can be done in their home or a local house of worship. It can be inexpensive to do.
- Become a greeter at a store like Walmart or Target
- Do home repairs such as plumbing and electrical work. People always need those things done. Retirees will have flexible hours and lower prices.
- Building things for others can help your parents increase their income. They can create things such as dog houses, chicken coops, and furniture. People will always need these types of things.
- Repairing cars is something many retirees like to do in their spare time. A good mechanic is always appreciated.
- Sewing and knitting items for sale can make your parents a little bit of extra money. If they are good at it, they can sell the items on eBay or Etsy. That could become a very steady source of income.
Goals
The final thing that your parents should do is to define their financial goals if they already haven’t. What do they want to save? How much do they want to leave to their family? What do they want their estate to be? Those are just a few goals that they should think about.
Are your parents ready for retirement?
Although my husband was not a retirement counselor, he should have been. He was a group/team leader and a manager for many years and oftentimes his co-workers would ask him about retirement income. The two things he told them was 1) track your expenses before retirement so you would know what could be eliminated, and 2) if you can’t live on your paycheck now, you won’t be able to live on reduced pension payments after retirement. He always said the looks he got from the co-workers was one of stunned disbelief, as though some magic fairy was going to help them out.