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In Iditarod and Retirement, Prep Is Key
By Phil Walton, Social Security Manager in Toledo, OH
Special to The Truth
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, held each March in Alaska,
is one of the harshest, most challenging races known to man
(or dog). Mushers embark on a race from Anchorage to Nome
that takes between nine and 15 days.
Contestants bear sub-zero temperatures with gale-force winds
that can cause wind chills as low as negative 100 degrees
Fahrenheit! It takes endurance, preparation, and careful
planning to make it from start to finish.
The same can be said for your race toward retirement and
Social Security. No one would hit the trail without being
ready for the challenges. Similarly, no worker today should
be navigating toward retirement without a little bit of
preparing, planning, and stick-to-itiveness.
Choosing your steps is as important as selecting the right
sled dogs. Your first step in planning for a comfortable
retirement is to look at your Social Security Statement,
which you can do online easily with a my Social Security
account.
The online Statement is easy to use and provides
estimates you should consider in planning for your
retirement. It provides estimates for disability and
survivors benefits, making the Statement an important
financial planning tool.
Your Statement allows you to review and ensure your
earnings are accurately posted to your Social Security
record. This feature is important because Social Security
benefits are based on average earnings over your lifetime.
If the information is incorrect, or you have earnings
missing from your record, you may not receive all of the
benefits to which you are entitled in the future. Visit
www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount
to set up a my Social Security account and get
started.
Before heading into the snowy terrain, you want to make sure
you have prepared for a number of different possible
obstacles on the trail. For retirement planning, you’ll want
to test out the Retirement Estimator to see how
changes in your income, retirement age, and other variables
may change your overall plan. Use our Retirement
Estimator, where you can get a personalized, instant
estimate of your future retirement benefits using different
retirement ages and scenarios. Visit the Retirement
Estimator at
www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.
Out in the cold, you’ll be thankful for the provisions
you’ve brought along. In retirement, you’ll understand why
it was so important for you to save early on.
The sooner you begin your financial planning, the better off
you will be. Social Security replaces about 40 percent of
the average worker’s pre-retirement earnings, but most
financial advisors say that you will need 70 percent or more
of pre-retirement earnings to live comfortably. You also
will need other savings, investments, pensions or retirement
accounts to make sure you have financial security to live
comfortably when you retire. Visit the Ballpark Estimator
for tips to help you save. You’ll find it at
www.choosetosave.org/ballpark.
Use our online library of publications as your trail map or
guidebook to help you when it comes to planning for
retirement. Check out When To Start Receiving Retirement
Benefits. It and many other useful publications can be
found at
www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs.
As you mush, mush, mush toward retirement, remember that
it’s not about the destination, but all about the journey.
Spending a little time to prepare along the way will make
all the difference when you cross the finish line into
retirement.
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