Retirement Workshops Help Workers Prepare

See Also: AARP Money

Earlier this year AARP VI began a series of retirement workshops targeting people between the ages of 45 and 60. The workshops targeted at individuals who had yet not taken steps to plan their retirement, but still had time to do so. The first workshop focused on understanding the value of existing assets like real estate and personal property as well as the importance of creating wills and trusts.

Workshop participants obtained a better understanding of Social Security benefits. These workshops also detailed the benefits and differences between pension plans, 401(k)’s, regular and Roth IRA’s, savings accounts and other forms of financial accounts.

AARP VI State Director Denyce Singleton stated that , “the seminars were designed to engage people in the preparation process while they still had time to make critical decisions that could impact their long term financial security.” Singleton also pointed out that “the information presented wasn’t complicated but instead talked about prioritizing budgets and recognizing where you can save. Saving and investing can be achieved with as little as a couple of dollars a week which add up over time.”

By conducting these workshops AARP VI feels it is helping enlighten all kinds of people to the many options that could provide them with substantial financial security. Additionally, adds Singleton, there “are other issues being discussed that many people don’t generally associate with financial security during retirement, i.e., making sure you will have adequate health care coverage.”

It has been stressed during the workshops that Medicare and supplemental health policies for those 65 and over (or over age 65) do not cover long term care services. These services include bathing, feeding, dressing, homemaker services and are commonly known as aids to daily life or ADLs. These services, if needed for a long period of time due to a fall or accident, can be very costly and can consume a considerable amount of a retirement nest egg. Investing early in an insurance plan that specifically addresses these types of services could not only preserve the financial resources that you’ve worked hard to accumulate, but could help to ensure that you receive the medical care you require when you need it. Long term care policies are generally tied to a person’s age. The earlier you apply, the less costly the premiums. Conversely, the longer you wait to obtain a long term care plan, the higher the premiums.

Information is the key. By knowing what is available to you and by determining which plans and policies fit your lifestyle, pre-retirement workers are better able to develop a suitable retirement plan for themselves.

“Developing the plan isn’t terribly difficult or complicated,” concludes Singleton. “You just have to decide that this is what you want to do, arm yourself with accurate information, develop your plan, and then watch it work.”

Future retirement seminars are also being planned for Spanish speakers as well as for residents of St. Thomas.