During the latest “Total Financial Solutions Safer Money Hour” on KHTS, Host Arif Halaby offered the community an easy way of determining where you are in the “financial race,” and if you’ve finished running without even realizing it.

“For a lot of people, you take risks that you shouldn’t be taking because you have accumulated the money already — even budgeting for inflation,” said Halaby, a Certified Estate Planner and president/CEO of Total Financial Solutions.

Halaby advised grabbing a pen and paper and creating two columns: one for current assets and the other for future income. Then at the top of the paper, write down the age you want to retire.

Related: Total Financial Solutions: How To Combat The Fear Of Running Out Of Money Post Retirement

“On the left side, you’re going to write assets, so that is where they are today,” he explained. “Your retirement accounts; if you have rental property, the equity in your rental property; … savings account, checking, etc.”

Then for the future income column, Halaby advised listing the guaranteed sources of income you expect to receive at the age you wrote at the top of the page, such as social security, pension, rental property, spousal social security, spousal pension, military pension, etc.

Lastly, if you believe your house mortgage will be paid off by the time you reach your target retirement age, Halaby recommends writing your current house payment in the middle of both columns.

“Because that’s money you no longer have to earn … so you can withdraw less money from your retirement accounts,” Halaby explained. “It will last a longer period of time and you have a house that’s paid off.”

For someone planning to retire in their late 60s, Halaby noted that you can plan to pull out about 4 percent of your total asset value per year and add that to your income column.

“Here’s a good example: If you have $1 million, you can pull out $40,000 a year and add that to the other column,” he said. “So if between the $40,000 a year (and) the ability for you to have the guaranteed sources of income, if that is enough for you to live on, then you’re retired.”

However, if it isn’t enough, then Halaby said you have to do one of two things: raise your savings, or reduce your expenses.

“That’s a good beginning,” he said, “because now you can see, ‘Am I close?’ (or) ‘Wow, it’s more than I thought.’”

While this two-column template is a great way for you to get started in figuring out where you are in the “financial race” at home, the financial professionals at Total Financial Solutions can sit down with you and determine your current financial profile, and guide you on any changes needed to help you plan for a successful retirement.

Total Financial Solutions offers assistance with preparing for retirement in Santa Clarita and the surrounding valleys. Santa Clarita financial professional Arif Halaby, a Certified Estate Planner, and Total Financial Solutions staff work with people of all ages, helping them protect, grow and preserve their assets through an individualized approach. As a well-known financial professional, Arif Halaby is also the host of “Total Financial Solutions Safer Money Hour” on KHTS AM-1220. Launched in 2004, the show offers listeners retirement planning tips and guidance for dealing with today’s ever-changing financial needs.  

Total Financial Solutions, Inc.

24322 Main Street

Newhall, CA 91321

661-753-9683

800-990-7344

Total Financial Solutions – Newhall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mz4W18nhz8

Arif Halaby, Total Financial Solutions, Financial Planning, Planning for Retirement, Retirement Planning