Three Things You Should Do Before You Retire

Deciding when to retire is not always simple. It takes careful planning. To help make the retirement process a bit less stressful, Finance Buzz put together a list of what you need to consider and do before your last day of work.

While everyone has different priorities and needs, three of the most critical tasks should be:

Know your Social Security benefits. One of the most important decisions you will make before you retire is when to start collecting Social Security benefits. Depending upon your savings situation, you may need to take your distributions as soon as you retire. However, if you can hold off until age 70, your monthly income will be much greater throughout your retirement.

Create a retirement budget. You may have a general idea of your monthly expenses. As you near retirement, be sure to revisit your budget. You may be shocked by how much you underestimated or overestimated the cost of some items. This is a good time to see if there are ways you can adjust your budget to save money.

Build up an emergency fund. On a fixed income, an unexpected cost, like a car accident or leaky roof, can be financially devastating. You will want to build up your emergency fund before you retire so you can cover unexpected expenses as they pop up.

The Seniors Trust is committed to improving the lives of America’s retirees through passage of The Social Security Expansion Act. It will give retirees an immediate benefits increase of about $200 a month, a fair annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), and increased minimum benefits. This bill will also ensure the long-term solvency of the Social Security program.