We're familiar with the old saw about working hard for your money so your money can work hard for you. But at no time does it need to work harder - and smarter - than during retirement for those who will need to rely on their pile to sustain their lifestyle.
Since we humans like to personify things, let's personify your retirement money. Let's say your money was faced with two job offers on the first day of your retirement.
The first job offer will pay your money $30,000 as a starting salary, with a yearly raise equal to the rate of inflation. Also, while the firm your money works for is relatively stable (it's a Wall Street outfit involved with stocks and bonds), it does have some bad years and has been known to lay off its staff about 10% of the time.
The second offer will pay $50,000 a year, and the guarantee of lifetime employment. However, there will be no raises. This job is with a life insurance company.
As you ponder which job offer your money should accept, you realize you need and want more money during the first years of your retirement to fund all the travel and projects you've wanted to pursue. That extra $20,000 - a 67% increase in the first year of retirement will go a long way. But no raises?
Well - let's think about it further. True, there are no raises with this particular insurance company job. But it will take the Wall Street job seventeen years at a 3% annual raise to grow to the $50,000 salary that the Insurance Company job started at. By that time, you'll be 82 and presumably slowing down in retirement.
That extra money during the go-go years of retirement sure is appealing. And it's available today from most life insurance companies.
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