4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Retiring
The transition from career life to retirement can be awfully bumpy. Before you decide to proceed with such a major life change, it's a good idea to ask yourself certain questions to confirm that you're ready to leave the working world.
You may be psychologically ready for retirement, but if you're not financially ready, you'll have a pretty miserable retired life. Before taking the final leap, review your retirement savings accounts, your Social Security statement, and any other sources of retirement income you have lined up. Add up your annual sources of income to see how much you'll have coming in each year (for retirement savings accounts, assume you'll be taking 3% to 3 1/2% per year), then compare the resulting total to your current income. If your projected retirement income is significantly lower, ask yourself if you can really get by on that much money without being miserable. If you're not sure whether your projected income is sufficient, use a retirement calculator to add up your likely expenses and compare that number to your projected retirement income.
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Source: Fool.com
