Jim Lorenzen, CFP®, AIF®
Choosing between pension options can be a difficult task. Choosing an option that guarantees your spouse pension benefits after your death means extra security but also lower monthly benefits.
On the other hand, choosing a pension option that only pays through your lifetime can provide larger monthly payments, but requires a lump sum to protect your spouse if your spouse outlives you. So, what’s the best choice? You need to get some numbers.
If you’d like see a calculation to help decide which pension option works best for your particular retirement needs, this is the information you will need to conduct an analysis.
The input regarding your pension and plan retirement options information you’ll need to provide:
- Your current age
- Retirement age
- Your health status and life expectancy
- Spouse’s current age
- Spouse’s health status and life expectancy
- Single monthly pension amount at retirement
- Joint monthly pension amount at retirement
- Rate of return on your investments (be careful, many miscalculate and overestimate this because they fail to include all their financial assets)
I’ve put together a series of concept pages on Retirement Pension Decisions you might find helpful. Just click on this link: Retirement Pension Decisions Guide
If you need help putting an analysis together, you can schedule an introductory phone call with me. A reminder: You will need the above information for our call.
Jim
Jim Lorenzen is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional and An Accredited Investment Fiduciary® serving private clients since 1991.
Jim is Founding Principal of The Independent Financial Group, a registered investment advisor with clients located across the U.S.. He is also licensed for insurance as an independent agent under California license 0C00742. The Independent Financial Group does not provide legal or tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed as securities or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment to the individual reader. The general information provided should not be acted upon without obtaining specific legal, tax, and investment advice from an appropriate licensed professional.
