General Lab Information

Planning for Your Retirement

Making plans to retire? It's important to consider not just retirement income, but things like healthcare, what you'll do in retirement, where you'll live, etc. These are all important for you, and we'd like to suggest several steps to take before you actually decide to retire.

Looking for information on the Phased Retirement Program? See this page instead.

Review Your Situation

Planning for retirement should include a review of your assets and expenses. Review your net worth (cash, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, etc.). Evaluate your current expenses (mortgage, charge cards, taxes, etc.). Consider your current spending practices, and estimate those you expect for the future. If you are considering moving to a different home or to a different state, how do you expect that to affect your expenses?

Review your various insurances (medical, dental, disability, life, homeowners, etc.) to determine if you have adequate protection.

Consider other potential sources of income and benefits (Social Security, Medicare, retirement benefits, personal savings, etc.). You should determine how much income these sources will provide at retirement. Also consider any part-time employment in which you may engage.

Social Security

To obtain an estimate of your Social Security benefit, go to www.ssa.gov or call the Social Security Office at the following number.

(800) 772-1213

Medicare

To determine if you are eligible for Medicare benefits, you can also go to www.medicare.gov or call Medicare directly at the following number.

(800) 633-4227

Consider legal matters such as a will and healthcare documents (durable power of attorney, living will, do-not-resuscitate order, etc.).

It is important to keep all of this information in a safe place that is accessible to a family member or friend in the case of an emergency. See the Guide for Preparing to Leave BSA (PDF) where we have provided a Personal Information Organizer you can use to track your financial information and other important documents. It can also be used to record information that may be helpful to others if they need to assist you or if they are handling your affairs.