Countdown to Retirement: 10 Years Away
It's time to envision retirement. Now that you're only a decade away from retirement, it's time to start getting specific about what that will mean for you. For instance, will you travel, volunteer or work part-time? Will you move out of state, or will you stay in the same town but downsize to a smaller place?
This exercise might even help you reach your retirement financial goals quicker. A recent survey by investment manager Capital Group found that workers who first envisioned retirement were motivated to save nearly one-third more than they might otherwise (see To Save More, Imagine Your Retirement).
If you're married, make sure the two of you compare notes about retirement. "Get on the same page with your spouse," says Judith Ward, senior financial planner with T. Rowe Price, adding that her husband had pictured retiring on a lake in Canada, but she had had something warmer in mind. "A lot of times spouses have a different vision for retirement."
