How to Re-balance Your Retirement Account
You may not be quite ready to retire yet, but hopefully you have a plan in place. Your money should be invested and earning you enough so that you can retire the way you want to and be comfortable. If not, then talking to a professional is advantageous.
If you are doing pretty well, then you’ll want to take the time every year to re-balance your retirement account. This is beneficial because market prices fluctuate, and this will have an impact on your funds. It’s possible that your portfolio has fallen out of sync with your target allocations.
Re-balancing your retirement account is vital to ensuring that your plan is on track. If you work with an investor, this is something they may schedule with you once a year. If they don’t, then it’s something you need to add to your calendar. Below are some tips to help you re-balance your retirement account.
Reconsider Target Allocations
When sitting down to look at your retirement account, the first thing you need to do is ensure that your target asset allocations are still in line with your retirement needs. This includes taking into consideration your life expectancy, age, risk tolerance, and retirement income requirements.
You may find that you need to make some adjustments based on any new information. This could include market changes or changes to your health. Working with a professional can be helpful in knowing exactly what changes to make that will benefit you and your retirement.
Consolidate Accounts
If you’re looking for a way to keep track of your accounts easier, then consider consolidating them. This will ensure that you have all the information in one place, as well as reducing the number of tax forms your get and making things simpler.
Look at Fund Selections
This is a great time to make sure that the funds you placed your money in are working for you. You may consider getting out of high-cost funds that are not performing well and putting your money into funds that don’t cost as much. Make sure to look at the long term performance of each fund, and don’t make quick decisions just because a fund may have had a bad year.
Adjust Contributions
Once you’ve gotten your account balanced, you’ll want to adjust how much you are contributing to the account. This will be based on what your needs are and where you want to be when you retire. Since each year will be getting you closer to retirement, you’ll want to change how much you put away to reach your goals.
Planning for retirement can start at any age, and taking the time each year to re-balance your accounts will ensure that you are on the right path. If you’re inclined, you can do your re-balancing by yourself. If you have questions, then working with a professional might be a good idea.
At Secure Choice, LLC, we want to make sure you are doing all you can to make your retirement a good one. Contact us today to see how we can help.
