Have You Checked Your Retirement Plan?

Marriage. Divorce. A new home. A new child — or a child that’s left for college. These life changes and others can affect your retirement plan, and your chosen methods for reaching your goals. So it’s a good idea to reassess your plan every year.

Here are a few of the things your financial advisor will help you with:

Reassessing your retirement income needs

Along with any life changes, you may want to think about your hopes for the future. If your goals, your health, or your dreams have changed, the amount of money you’ll need to live on could be changing, too. And that need will almost certainly affect how you’re saving today.

Reconsider your risk tolerance

Every long-term investment carries some level of risk and uncertainty. To assess how well you can tolerate this risk, consider when you’ll need to start using your investment funds, your accumulation goal, and other assets that you have. You may be able to afford a higher amount of risk if you have many years before you plan to retire.

Your financial advisor can help you assess your risk tolerance.

Think about asset allocation

Is your investment mix still right for you? Should you increase or decrease your stock investments? Should you move some of your funds to a different type of account?

If you’ve decided that your plan needs adjustments — perhaps you need to save more than you’d originally planned for — there are a variety of changes that can help you stay on track. You may want to invest more, contribute more often, or aim for a higher-risk/higher-return investment. Or you may find yourself worrying about your financial future too much, which could indicate a need to go to lower-risk investments, like bonds.

Re-balancing

At times, you may find that your assets need to be re-balanced across your portfolio. This happens when one investment outperforms another, leaving you with a higher percentage of either high- or low-risk investment. Depending on your circumstances, a re-balancing of these assets can help you keep a more even growth pace toward your goals.

Reviewing plan rules and features

Are you making the most of your investment plan? Are you keeping up-to-date with any changes in your plan? It’s always worth it to take a little time to re-read the details on your investment portfolio, including any management fees. Consider whether you could afford to contribute a little more, if your plan allows — and be sure you understand all the tax ramifications of your investments, too.

Need help?

Have you reviewed your financial plan recently? While it’s not a good idea to make continual changes, or to peek at your accounts on a daily or weekly basis, a thorough annual review can help ensure that you’re on the right track toward your goals for the future. We can help. Get your FREE review today at www.horizonbank.com/investments/free-review.