Baby Boomers: The Pot Holes In Retirement Planning

BOSTON (CBS) - This is not about those potholes that send us to get our tires realigned! These are all about the misalignments in retirement planning.

Not starting soon enough. Retirement planning should start with your first job. The sooner you start the better. Early planning allows time to be on your side for that gives you time to ride the ups and downs of the stock market and to save more.

Some Boomers have told me that you should have fun now spending your money for you don't know how long you are going to live and the future will take care of itself.

In theory that sounds like fun but the reality is that having money saved for retirement allows you to have choices about so many things in your life such as when to retire and where to retire?

Not figuring out how much income you are going to need in retirement. You need to plan as if you are going to live to be 90 and if you are under 40 you need to plan until age 100. And think about this; if you do run out of money who's going to take care of you? Do you want to live with your kids? Do you have kids?

Cashing out your retirement plan. Job wise most Boomers are expected to have at least 7 jobs during their working careers. And many will even change careers perhaps moving from the private sector to the nonprofit or even taking a government job.

But when you leave your job most retirement plans allow you to take the money with you and too many people do just that. They cash out their retirement plans. Don't do it!

For example if it is $15,000 you have in there, you will have taxes withheld at 25% so you will only get $11,250. And then there is the 10% penalty if you are under 59½.

If you had rolled the $15,000 into an IRA and left it there for another 20 years with an estimated 8% return, you could conceivably have an additional $75,000 in your nest egg.

....................

You can hear Dee Lee's expert financial advice on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 each weekday at 1:55 p.m., 3:55 p.m., and 7:55 p.m.

Subscribe to Dee's Money Matters newsletter here.