How to achieve your retirement dreams

To put together any kind of plan, you need to start with a goal, and retirement is no different. State your goal, put together a plan, and then take action to make it happen. Think about these three questions to help you come up with your goal—your dream retirement—and your plan:

1. When I picture my dream retirement, what does it look like?
2. How much money do I need to get there?
3. What am I doing to reach my goals?

1 Dream BIG

Your needs and wants may change as you move from your working years to your retirement years. What’s most likely to change is your general lifestyle and how you want to spend your time. The first step in planning for retirement can be to think of everything you hope to do. Start big and list everything you want it to be. An easy way to figure this out may be by answering the five Ws: who, what, when, where, and why

Take a piece of paper and write your answers to the following questions:

1. Who is involved in or affected by my plans?
2. What are the plans I hope to achieve for retirement?
3. When will my plans take place?
4. Where will these plans take place?
5. Why have I chosen these plans?

This activity can help you identify what’s most important to you in retirement. Be sure to include your spouse and other loved ones in the conversation. Some other questions you may want to discuss include:

• Do I want to travel more or less?
• How much time will be spent for part-time work or personal hobbies?
• Can I factor in family commitments or caring responsibilities in my ideal day to day?

Another key factor to consider in these plans is your personal health. How will your health affect your ability to do everything you want in retirement, and how will it affect your finances? Keep in mind that your health and its impact on your retirement and finances will change as you move through the years.

Identifying what you want from retirement can motivate you to create a financial plan that will help get you closer to that dream. Let’s look at how you could build a financial plan according to the lifestyle you hope to achieve. 

2 Plan accordingly

Once you know the type of lifestyle you want to achieve in retirement, it’s time to create a plan and figure out how much you’ll need to get there. The easiest way to lay the groundwork for a plan may be to set S.M.A.R.T. goals based on your five Ws for retirement. This activity will help you connect your goals to a realistic and actionable strategy.

You can then use the retirement savings calculator to work out how much money you'll need to achieve this retirement plan. Remember to include any estate planning decisions in addition to basic living and healthcare costs in this calculation.

3 Act on your plan

Now that you know what kind of life you want in retirement, you’ve set goals to get there, and you know how much money you’ll need to achieve those goals, it’s time to make it all happen.

If you’d like help figuring out how to make your money work for you, consider meeting with an advisor to set up a timeline and/or savings strategy to help get you there. An advisor can also help you with investing your money.

The action part of achieving your dreams requires a framework that creates a balance between how you spend now and how you save for later. What changes are you willing to make today to help you achieve those retirement dreams in the future? 

Your retirement savings are critical for helping you reach your goal. Are you saving enough today? Is your investment strategy appropriate for how long you have until retirement and for your comfort taking on risk?

Take the steps toward your future

Visualize your dream retirement, set your goal, and create a plan to get there. Putting the steps together and taking them one at a time can help alleviate your worries about having enough saved for the retirement you dream of, especially as you get closer to making your retirement dream a reality.  

Sign in and update your retirement goal, or meet with an advisor to build a plan for your dream retirement.