[Retirement readiness](https://wealthhabits.com/resources/)

# Make work optional.

Connect the life you want with the spending, income and investments that can support it. Start with what needs to line up.

[Explore your readiness](https://wealthhabits.com/resources/retirement-readiness/#spending) [Talk through your plans ↗](https://wealthhabits.com/meeting/)

With [Gabriel Kaplan, CFP®, CPA](https://wealthhabits.com/gabriel-kaplan/)

Five inputs. One retirement decision.

Select an input to explore what goes into the decision.

## A balance is a starting point. A plan connects the pieces.

Retirement readiness brings together your spending, income sources, health coverage and room to adjust. Each decision affects when work can become optional.

## What needs to line up?

Explore the decisions behind a retirement date. Open any topic to see what to gather and what to consider.

[See how planning and investments connect ↗](https://wealthhabits.com/investment-management/#retirement-planning)

**Know what life will cost** Regular bills, bigger purchases and room to adjust.**

Build your retirement budget from actual expenses. Then change the items that will differ after work ends.

1. List the bills you expect to pay each month.
2. Add annual expenses, including insurance, travel, and property taxes.
3. List larger costs, including home repairs, car replacements, and family support.
4. Mark the expenses you could reduce or delay.
5. Include estimated taxes and health costs without counting them twice.

Keep essential expenses separate from flexible spending. That distinction gives you specific choices to review when circumstances change.

**Put your income on a timeline** Your last paycheck and first benefit may not line up.**

List when each income source can start. Include Social Security, pensions, and any work you expect to continue.

For Social Security, compare your personal estimates at different claiming ages. Starting before full retirement age reduces the monthly benefit. Delaying beyond full retirement age increases it through age 70. [Social Security explains the claiming tradeoffs](https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/agereduction.html).

Your last paycheck and first benefit payment may fall in different years. Identify the spending your savings must cover between them.

**Bridge the health coverage gap** Plan for the time between work and your next coverage.**

Identify the coverage you will use when employer coverage ends. Include premiums and expected costs you must pay yourself.

Medicare enrollment timing can depend on your current coverage and employment. Review your circumstances before choosing a retirement date. [Medicare explains coverage and enrollment when work ends](https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/medicare-basics/working-past-65).

**Compare more than one retirement date** See what changes if you stop earlier or later.**

Compare your preferred retirement date with an earlier and later date. Keep the spending assumptions consistent so the tradeoffs remain clear.

Then examine what changes with weaker investment results, higher expenses, or a longer retirement. Identify which expenses could change and which commitments must continue.

A useful review produces decisions you can act on. Those decisions may involve saving more, changing spending, working longer, or revisiting a major purchase.

**Give your investments a purpose** Match the portfolio to when you will need the money.**

Review the money you expect to use soon alongside the money you expect to use later.

Your investment mix should reflect your time horizon and tolerance for risk. Diversification spreads investments to reduce risk, but it cannot prevent every loss. [FINRA explains asset allocation and diversification](https://www.finra.org/investors/investing/investing-basics/asset-allocation-diversification).

**Bring the facts together** Turn scattered information into decisions.**

Gather your recent account statements, spending records, benefit estimates, debt details, and health coverage options. Keep sensitive documents in a secure location.

I help connect these facts through [retirement planning and investment management](https://wealthhabits.com/investment-management/#retirement-planning).

Your selected engagement defines the service. Standalone investment management excludes the financial plan. [Compare the current plans and fees](https://wealthhabits.com/pricing/) before [booking an introductory meeting](https://wealthhabits.com/meeting/).

The next useful step is a clear comparison of your choices, grounded in the life you want to fund.

## Your next conversation, made concrete.

Gather these five things before comparing retirement dates. They give the plan a factual starting point.

Check off what you have. This checklist stays in this page and is not saved.

## Let’s put your retirement in view.

Bring your questions. We’ll talk about your goals and whether Wealth Habits is a fit. Your selected engagement defines the scope.

[Book an intro meeting](https://wealthhabits.com/meeting/) [Explore plans and fees ↗](https://wealthhabits.com/pricing/)

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Source: [https://wealthhabits.com/resources/retirement-readiness/](https://wealthhabits.com/resources/retirement-readiness/)

Wealth Habits is a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning and investment management firm. We are compensated only by our clients, never by commissions, and we are held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interest at all times.

Derastone LLC dba Wealth Habits is a registered investment adviser. Review our Form CRS and Form ADV at adviserinfo.sec.gov.