Wendell Financial Services

The Most Important Aspects of Retirement Planning

Most people have different financial priorities during different stages of their lives, but regardless of your age or current life stage, a balanced retirement plan is like a three-legged stool.

Remove one of the legs and the stool teeters unsteadily and may crash, taking you with it.

The most important aspects of retirement planning can be placed into three broad categories,
which are the three legs of the plan:
(1) Government Sponsored Plans
(2) Employer Sponsored Plans
(3) Personal Savings Plans

Know your limits – Are you maximizing your current contributions?

Account Type
Traditional and Roth IRA	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Annual Contributions	$ 3,000	$ 4,000	$ 4,000	$ 4,000	$ 5,000
*Catch-up contribution	$ 500	$ 500	$ 1,000	$ 1,000	$ 1,000
*401(k), 403(b), 457 and SAR_SEP*
Annual Contribution	$13,000	$14,000	$15,000	$15,500	Indexed to Inflation
*Catch-up contribution	$ 3,000	$ 4,000	$ 5,000	$ 5,000	Indexed to Inflation
Simple IRA
Annual Contribution	$ 9,000	$10,000	$10,000	$10,500	Indexed to Inflation
*Catch-up contribution	$ 1,500	$ 2,000	$ 2,500	$ 2,500	Indexed to Inflation

*Only IRA owners and retirement plan participants age 50 and over may make catch-up contributions

Account Type

Traditional and Roth IRA

Simple IRA