{"id":4406,"date":"2019-02-27T15:06:02","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T21:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4406"},"modified":"2019-02-27T15:06:02","modified_gmt":"2019-02-27T21:06:02","slug":"preparing-for-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/preparing-for-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing for Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

By William Evans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Retirement can be many things,\u00a0a heaven you long for or a terror you\u00a0flee, the beginning of a\u00a0new adventure or the end of\u00a0everything you value. Regardless,\u00a0unless death calls you earlier, it’s\u00a0coming so you better get ready.<\/p>\n

Remember the advice on how to\u00a0eat an elephant\u2014one bite at a time.\u00a0Preparing for retirement is similar. Divide\u00a0the process into manageable\u00a0bites and deal with the pieces.<\/p>\n

Retirement needs seem to logically\u00a0fall into two big areas, the physical things\u00a0(money, housing, food, health care) and\u00a0the mental things (how to manage and\u00a0react to everything including people and\u00a0the physical things). Then divide these\u00a0two into smaller bites.<\/p>\n

Since most of us have to deal with\u00a0physical things, start there. Begin by\u00a0asking the following questions.<\/p>\n

Where Am I Now? <\/strong><\/p>\n

The easiest way to answer this\u00a0question is to create a realistic net\u00a0worth statement. A net worth statement\u00a0is simply a list of all the things\u00a0you own minus all the debts you owe.\u00a0It does not need to be precise to the\u00a0penny, but it should be close. Don’t\u00a0over-value things like cars, home furnishings\u00a0and personal property items.<\/p>\n

You should do this annually. Year end\u00a0is a good time since the necessary information\u00a0is already available from tax calculations.\u00a0Life and retirement are about\u00a0more than things, but things can be\u00a0comforting, helpful or even necessary.<\/p>\n

Where Am I Going? <\/strong><\/p>\n

By comparing two years’ net worth\u00a0statements, you can determine if you\u00a0are making progress toward your\u00a0goals. The first step to financial success\u00a0is spending less than you make. The\u00a0second step is making money work for\u00a0you through savings and investments.\u00a0By reviewing your net worth statements\u00a0over a period of years, you will\u00a0get a clear picture of your progress.<\/p>\n

How Long Do I Have? <\/strong><\/p>\n

This is simply the number of working years to retirement. Certainly some\u00a0will face unforeseen events such as\u00a0disability or even an early death. These\u00a0unknowns should be managed as\u00a0much as possible through wise use of\u00a0insurance. Health coverage, term life\u00a0and disability coverage are all important\u00a0to protect your family during your\u00a0working years. However, the vast majority\u00a0of us will live a full life. Your planning\u00a0should plan for that.<\/p>\n

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How Much Will I Need?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No one can know for sure, but there\u00a0are some good guidelines. Look at\u00a0your spending habits now; this is the\u00a0best gage. Financial advisors suggest\u00a0you will need from 65% to 100%+ of\u00a0your final year’s income to feel comfortable.\u00a0Somewhere in that range\u00a0should be your target. If you own your\u00a0own home and enter retirement with\u00a0no debts, you will be at the lower\u00a0range. If you plan to do a lot of traveling\u00a0or have high health demands, you may\u00a0be in the upper range.<\/p>\n

Where will you get your retirement\u00a0income? Most will count on something\u00a0from Social Security. Remember it is\u00a0only designed to replace about 45% of\u00a0the income for the lowest wage earners,\u00a0down to 23% for those with maximum\u00a0taxable earnings. Where will you\u00a0get the remainder to sustain you and\u00a0your spouse?<\/p>\n

There are many possibilities:<\/p>\n

A formal retirement plan<\/em>provided by\u00a0or through your employer should be\u00a0used when possible. Our Free Will Baptist program is available to all paid employees\u00a0of a Free Will Baptist church or\u00a0agency.<\/p>\n

Personal savings and investments<\/em>including\u00a0traditional and Roth IRAs are an\u00a0integral part of every successful plan.<\/p>\n

You may receive an inheritance or\u00a0help <\/em>from your children or other family\u00a0members.<\/p>\n

Supplemental Security Income<\/em>and\u00a0state welfare programs may be available\u00a0if you have none of the above and\u00a0are in great need.<\/p>\n

Yourlifestyle<\/em>will make a big difference\u00a0in what you need for retirement.\u00a0If you are accustomed to spending a\u00a0lot during your earning years, you will\u00a0find that cutting back drastically makes\u00a0retirement difficult.<\/p>\n

Now for the Big Question,\u00a0How Do I Get There From Here? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Determine as best you can how\u00a0much you will need at retirement,\u00a0how much you can save each year,\u00a0and what those savings will earn\u00a0compounded to retirement. Accumulating\u00a0sufficient retirement assets\u00a0requires just three things: savings,\u00a0earnings and time. Pardon the parody,\u00a0but the greatest of these is time.<\/p>\n

Here is the retirement savings good\u00a0news: time is your greatest ally in accumulating\u00a0assets . . . when you are young.\u00a0If you aren’t it can be a terrible foe.<\/p>\n

About now some of you are saying,\u00a0\u201cWell, I will trust the Lord to provide for\u00a0me.” I remind you that He may have already been\u00a0providing during the working\u00a0years.<\/p>\n

Should a Christian really be concerned\u00a0about his personal retirement\u00a0years? Our earthly future is uncertain\u00a0and we are instructed to live by faith.\u00a0Besides, retirement has only been\u00a0possible for ordinary folks during the\u00a0last 100 years or so anyway.<\/p>\n

Although the Bible addresses retirement\u00a0only briefly or indirectly, it does\u00a0deal with greed. There is a short reference\u00a0to the retirement age of priests as\u00a050 in Numbers 8. Consider the ant in\u00a0Proverbs 6:6, the admonishment to provide\u00a0in I Timothy 5 and, of course, the\u00a0classic picture of Joseph’s gathering for\u00a0seven years in Egypt to distribute during\u00a0the famine. Read especially Genesis\u00a045:5, 7. In light of these, preparing for the\u00a0future\u2014retirement if you will\u2014does not\u00a0seem anti-Bible, anti-God, or anti-faith.<\/p>\n

God should control our savings and\u00a0accumulation as much as our present\u00a0income. He urges us to be generous\u00a0and willing to share whether we have\u00a0little or much. By restraining ourselves\u00a0during the earning years there will be\u00a0some for the yearning years. Having\u00a0more than we require at retirement is\u00a0much more desirable than having too\u00a0little. A generous soul can always redistribute\u00a0the excess.<\/p>\n

If the things<\/em>are being taken care of,\u00a0then we need to consider our emotional\u00a0preparation.<\/p>\n

Start considering now when your retirement day will come.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No matter what you can offer the\u00a0church today, there is coming a time\u00a0when either you or the church will\u00a0feel you can no longer meet the demands.\u00a0Let me suggest that you begin\u00a0now to accept the fact that one\u00a0day you will need to retire.<\/p>\n

Look at your personality today<\/strong>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

You are building each day the person\u00a0you will be down the road. Be sure you\u00a0are putting into your life the things you\u00a0will enjoy for years. Retirement will not\u00a0increase your interest in anything. It will\u00a0give you more time to be what you are\u00a0becoming. Make sure you will be the\u00a0kind of person your spouse will enjoy,\u00a0appreciate and respect.<\/p>\n

Continue, or begin, developing interest\u00a0in a number of things. Learn\u00a0about your community and the people\u00a0where you live. Get acquainted\u00a0with your local library. Check on the\u00a0needs-area ministries or social services.\u00a0Take up a hobby.<\/p>\n

Remember you are a social creature.\u00a0You need to be involved with other people. Remember that pet owners generally\u00a0out-live people who live alone.<\/p>\n

Start some type of exercise program.\u00a0Check with your doctor and remember\u00a0that walking is one of the least stressful\u00a0and most beneficial exercises. Those\u00a0who can’t do anything else can do isometric exercises. I recently read that just\u00a0tensing the muscles while seated on a\u00a0long flight will help eliminate blood clots\u00a0in the legs. Do something.<\/p>\n

You are more important than the work you do.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regardless of the pressures and\u00a0frustration you feel in your work, your\u00a0job often becomes a significant part\u00a0of who you are. Leaving your job is\u00a0often threatening to more than just\u00a0the loss of your income.<\/p>\n

Retirement is not the end of life.\u00a0New federal figures indicate the average\u00a065-year-old can expect to live\u00a0another 25 years or more.<\/p>\n

Retirement is the transition from\u00a0doing what you must do to earn a living\u00a0(even when you enjoy it so much\u00a0you would do it for free) to doing\u00a0what you want to for fulfillment. It\u00a0may also include working for pay to\u00a0sustain or supplement income.<\/p>\n

Preparing for retirement requires allowing\u00a0Christ to mold you inside so\u00a0that you can enjoy who you are. When\u00a0that is achieved, others will enjoy being\u00a0in your company and the image of\u00a0Christ will be clearly seen. Retirement\u00a0will be full and complete regardless of\u00a0whether it is short or long, well financed\u00a0or not.<\/p>\n

Christian workers should look for\u00a0areas to serve where they are wanted,\u00a0needed and are comfortable. When\u00a0that work is rendered without the need\u00a0for reimbursement, it qualifies in the\u00a0Lord’s more blessed category. It adds a\u00a0special flavor to the golden years.<\/p>\n

Retirement is an Opportunity <\/strong><\/p>\n

What does a retired Christian worker\u00a0do? Those who love fishing will fish,\u00a0golfers will golf, travelers travel, readers\u00a0read\u2014but no one does any of those\u00a0things all the time. It is important for\u00a0each of us to develop an interest in a\u00a0number of things. Try several things\u00a0and find those that are right for you.<\/p>\n

Some retired pastors have said to\u00a0me, “I’m having a hard time in retirement.\u00a0I’m not important to anyone anymore.” Well, there are many smaller\u00a0churches that could and would use a\u00a0retired man if he were available. But to\u00a0pastor after reaching retirement age\u00a0simply from the need for income or\u00a0emotional addiction is not good.<\/p>\n

The post-retirement pastor may not\u00a0be able to provide the shepherding he\u00a0desires or the church may reach a\u00a0point where it wants and needs a\u00a0change. Part of life is to have some significance\u00a0and retirement should not diminish\u00a0that. However, it will require\u00a0some changes in the way we use our\u00a0time and how we are gratified.\u00a0How should Christians, especially\u00a0those who have given their lives in service,\u00a0approach retirement? There are\u00a0so many questions. How much will I\u00a0need in retirement? Where will I live?\u00a0What will I do with all that time? Will I\u00a0maintain my health? Will I need to get\u00a0a part-time job? How will I relate to my\u00a0church? . . .denomination?<\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact<\/em>magazine, August 2001.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By William Evans Retirement can be many things,\u00a0a heaven you long for or a terror you\u00a0flee, the beginning of a\u00a0new adventure or the end of\u00a0everything you value. Regardless,\u00a0unless death calls you earlier, it’s\u00a0coming so you better get ready. Remember the advice on how to\u00a0eat an elephant\u2014one bite at a time.\u00a0Preparing for retirement is similar. Divide\u00a0the process into manageable\u00a0bites and deal with the pieces. Retirement needs seem to logically\u00a0fall into two big areas, the physical things\u00a0(money, housing, food, health care) and\u00a0the mental things (how to manage and\u00a0react to everything including people and\u00a0the physical things). Then divide these\u00a0two into smaller bites. Since most of us have to deal with\u00a0physical things, start there. Begin by\u00a0asking the following questions. Where Am I Now? The easiest way to answer this\u00a0question is to create a realistic net\u00a0worth statement. A net worth statement\u00a0is simply a list of all the things\u00a0you own minus all the debts you owe.\u00a0It does not need to be precise to the\u00a0penny, but it should be close. Don’t\u00a0over-value things like cars, home furnishings\u00a0and personal property items. You should do this annually. Year end\u00a0is a good time since the necessary information\u00a0is already available from tax calculations.\u00a0Life and retirement are about\u00a0more than things, but things can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4406"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4407,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4406\/revisions\/4407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}