This guest post is from David Nelson. David is a consultant who specializes in business strategies. He holds a degree in business administration with a major in finance and lives in the Chicago area.
Many people today face a lot of uncertainty about their future and especially their retirement years. Whether a young 20-something college graduate is just starting out, or a person in the middle of their career is starting to plan for the golden years, there are a lot of unknowns to dealt with.
Where’s Our Slice?
All of these people are paying into the Social Security system, but not everyone knows if they will be getting anything out of it when their turn comes around. As it stands today, if nothing is done about the current system, funds will only be available until 2033, according to InvestorPlace.com.
While it is unlikely that the United States Congress will let the current system falter, many people do fear a lack of sufficient funding for them to live off of during their retirement. This means people need to consider other ways to invest in their futures and start saving for their retirement years.
5 Ways to Supplement Retirement Income
- Open a Savings Account for Retirement – Most companies offer their employees the opportunity to invest some of their paycheck each week into a 401K account. Typically, after several years working for a company, an employee can become vested and the employer often matches the amount the employee puts into the account. This is a very solid choice for saving for retirement, and will help most people live comfortably during those laid back years.
- Diversify Your Investment Portfolio – For instance, look into the US Money Reserve. It is one of the largest distributors of U.S. government-issued gold, silver and platinum coins. This is one idea for investing in something that will likely have a large pay out in the end, giving the retiree a substantial amount of savings to help supplement income from Social Security.
- Take on a Post-Retirement Career – Retirement is the time in your life to choose to do whatever you want — that includes trying a new career. Perhaps you have always loved writing and want to start up your own freelancing business. Or maybe you have always loved fixing things up and want to get a job at the local hardware store. This is a way to earn some extra money while also doing something new and exciting.
- Set up a Plan to Reduce Living Expenses – According to Press Republican, reducing living expenses is an easy way to supplement income from social security. Plan to pay off a home before retiring or make sure other large financial purchases, such as vehicles, are paid-off. If your living expenses are less, you will not need as much income to get by each month.
- Turn a Hobby Into Extra Cash – If you have always loved knitting items, start making baby hats and blankets to sell at local mom-to-mom sales. If you are an excellent baker, offer your baked goods to local grocery stores. Sometimes, this is a perfect way to make extra cash for those fun things in life.
At this time, there is a real fear that people paying into the system are not going to get anything out of it. With funds projected to run out in 2033, there are several choices available to help fix the broken system. While raising the retirement age to 68 or reducing benefits are options being considered, it’s important to get a game plan together for how to supplement your income so you don’t have to worry about it.
