Retirement Planning

A roadmap for your unique retirement plan

How do you want to live your retirement?

Retirement planning is more than crunching numbers—it's connected to your lifestyle and vision for the future. It takes time and effort to define your goals, evaluate your income sources and create a plan that evolves with your needs and allows you to make your retirement dreams a reality.

A Retirement Planning Checklist
A retirement roadmap

In a study conducted with Logica Research, we uncovered that affluent Americans estimate they would need $5.5 million to retire and pass on wealth to loved ones. Achieving such a goal doesn't happen by accident, but with careful planning you can design, implement and test a comprehensive strategy that helps you reach your objectives.

Step 1

Analyze your lifestyle goals and retirement needs

Your plan starts with your dream for retirement. Once defined, we'll help you determine how much you'll need to make that dream a reality—including your time horizon and income sources.

Step 2

Determine your current retirement resources

Your retirement income sources may include government-sponsored, employment-sponsored, and private savings and investments. We'll help you prioritize which accounts to pull from—and when—to minimize tax impact.

Step 3

Estimate future costs outside your lifestyle

Consider how you'll pay for medical coverage—especially if you retire before you qualify for Medicare. Also assess your overall health to identify any gaps in coverage for extended care or life insurance.

Step 4

Calculate the gap between needs and resources

The difference between your retirement needs and current resources can help you create realistic expectations, explore specific strategies and align your unique goals to your overall wealth plan.

Step 5

Implement strategies to bridge any gap

There are a range of strategies to align your retirement income with your unique goals, including adjusting your timeline, reviewing expectations or considering your current asset allocation solutions.

Step 6

Revisit and stress test for stability

As your life and family situation change, it's important to review important pillars of your retirement plan, such as your risk tolerance and asset allocation strategy.

A Closer Look
Things to consider for your retirement plan

Account types

You may have several types of retirement savings accounts such as a 401(k), IRA and Social Security benefits—each with their own set of tax implications and distribution requirements.

Tax implications

When it's time to start drawing on your retirement savings, it's important to have a disciplined plan in place to ensure you're receiving your retirement income in a tax-efficient manner.

Prioritization

Some accounts require you start taking distributions when you reach a certain age. Be sure you include these requirements in your tax-efficient strategy for taking retirement income.

Retirement Planning Calculator
Calculate your retirement savings

Insights
The latest on retirement planning

This material is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be an offer, specific investment strategy, recommendation or solicitation to purchase or sell any security or insurance product, and should not be construed as legal, tax or accounting advice. Please consult with your legal or tax advisor regarding the particular facts and circumstances of your situation prior to making any financial decision. While we believe that the information presented is from reliable sources, we do not represent, warrant or guarantee that it is accurate or complete.

Third parties mentioned are not affiliated with First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company.

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Your investments in securities and insurance products and services are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency and may lose value.  They are not deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed by any bank or bank affiliate and are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal amounts invested. There is no guarantee that a strategy will achieve its objective.

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