By Sarah Lynch, WV Retirement Plus

Your anticipated retirement date may cross your mind daily as you edge closer to that magic age, but you may not have had a moment with yourself to think about what it is that you are going to do with your time. People retire for a number of reasons including changes in company policies, disappointment with their job, traveling ambitions, relocation purposes, family obligations, and of course reaching that coveted retirement age they have been inching towards. But, when you finally wake up one morning and are not expected to report to the office what is it that you are going to do?

This is an important question that many people do not ask themselves. They spend time focusing on their job, families, and daily obligations and they crunch the numbers or let the dice roll that they have enough money when they retire, but what is it that you want to do when you wake up in the morning and have the a whole day, week, or year with time that you never had in your control before? I know that many of you will have family obligations, such as babysitting grandchildren, or spouses that have not retired at the same time and so you may think there is nothing to consider when you look at this day of retirement. This reflection on your true desires for life not only applies to those who will move to Florida or travel to Europe or buy a boat, but everyone contemplating how they want their daily life to look.

Wanting to replace a run-down car or do a home improvement project so you can finally list your house for sale are things you can consider when calculating your retirement outlook. In addition to considering daily living expenses, bills, and healthcare costs you may also be interested in how your lifestyle will be when you retire and hope that it is on par with or possibly an upgrade from your current living situation. This time reflecting about your past and current living situation will help you create realistic expectations for how your life will look in retirement and then you might be able to come up with a savings amount that will help you achieve this goal.

Not only do you have a magic age that you are probably working towards for retirement, but you also need a magic dollar number that signals you are financially ready to stop working. Need some help calculating how much savings you may need? The WV State Treasurer’s Office and Voya have a Retirment Outlook Calculator  that can help. This tool can help you determine how much extra you can afford to save per paycheck in order to meet your financial retirement goals.

I hope that you will be able to understand and have a realistic retirement goal by spending some time thinking about what you want your retirement to look like! No one can tell you how much money you will need to retire and it is beneficial to think about this as far in advance as possible. If you need assistance with your retirement account, please contact our Voya representatives at 1-877-786-2982 to discuss WV Retirement Plus!

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the variable product and its underlying fund options carefully before investing. Fund prospectuses, and an information booklet containing this and other information, can be obtained by contacting your local Voya representative. Please read carefully before investing.