After a long career and careful retirement income planning, you might breathe a sigh of relief when your target retirement date finally arrives. If you’ve managed to accumulate a sizable retirement fund, you probably feel fairly confident about your future financial security.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean you’re completely out of the woods. The down side of building a comfortable nest egg arrives when we begin to grow older, and unscrupulous types view us as a target for con games. And in some cases, we can be our own worst enemy. No one likes to think about this aspect of retirement, but age can sometimes trigger memory problems, lapses in judgment, or medical problems. You’re sharp as a tack now, but we all must prepare for an alternate scenario.
Designate a power of attorney. This is yet another important part of retirement planning. Your power of attorney can step in and manage your financial affairs in the event that you become temporarily or permanently unable to do so. Remember to communicate your wishes with this person now, and continue to have conversations about your money and priorities.
Safeguard your accounts. Reducing your number of bank and credit card accounts can help you keep track of everything more efficiently. At the same time, set up automatic alerts that will notify you of large bank drafts or credit card purchases. Consider sending these alerts to your power of attorney as well.
Never give out important information over the phone. Con artists have developed tricky methods of getting to your Social Security number, bank account numbers, and more. Remember that the IRS, your bank, and other institutions will never call and ask for this information over the phone. The same goes for emails.
Continue to meet with financial professionals. Schedule regular meetings with us, your financial planners, to check up on your status. Plus, make sure to meet with an estate planning attorney to draw up important documents pertaining to your financial assets, medical protections, and more.