Five Ways to Make Your Retirement Dollars Work Harder

Article submitted by Ron Menard, Certified Senior Advisor at Menard Financial Group.
For more information, he can be reached at  at 225-216-0430.

At this stage in your life, you have better things to do that worry about money. Yet financial concerns can often diminish your quality of life by distracting you from the things you enjoy most. Here are five smart strategies for maximizing your retirement dollars:

1. Maintain a Long-Term Horizon - An equity indexed annuity (EIA) is a popular alternative to the risk that comes with investing in the stock market. An EIA is a contract with an insurance company which agrees to pay you a rate of interest based on a generally recognized stock market index such as the S & P 500. The best news is that if the market falls, your principal is not adversely affected. There are other perks offered as incentives with EIAs.
    
2. Be Sure to Account for Inflation - With the average percent of inflation at 3.5 per year, keeping a portion of your retirement assets in growth-oriented vehicles can help offset the insidious influence of inflation.
    
3. Reduce Your Income Tax Hit - Keep in mind that it is no longer true that Social Security benefits will not be taxed. Rather than earning income that is currently taxable, earnings from deferred annuities can accumulate free from current taxation until you withdraw them.
    
4. Supplement Your Income - If you have the time, energy and interest, pursuing a second career is now a possibility now that Social Security income limits have been raised.
    
5. Establish a Living Trust - Estate planning is not just for the "super-rich" anymore! Consider the AB Trust which allows the married couple to pass the maximum amount of assets to their children or other beneficiaries after both husband and wife die.