After several decades of working, saving, planning, and lots of dreaming, it’s finally time to retire. Are you ready?

“Ready” doesn’t just mean financially, although that’s perhaps the biggest part of it. There are emotional and logistical concerns as well, requiring a lot of planning and discussion with your loved ones. 

But it starts with your finances—specifically, your retirement budget. You’ll need to plan your expected income from all sources, manage your assets, and decide how to draw down from your savings in a safe and conservative way. Then you can set your monthly spending accordingly.

Although Social Security is just one of (hopefully) several retirement income streams, it’s frequently the anchor. Watch the video below on how Social Security works, then read on to complete your journey to retirement.

Before you blow out the candles at your retirement party, you’d better check over your finances. Hopefully, you have a nice balance in a retirement account and/or pension plan. And if you set up other income streams during your working years, such as an annuity or rental property, that’s terrific!

As you consider your retirement budget, you’ll need to answer two big questions:

One of the greatest fears among retirees is that they’ll outlive their money. That’s called longevity risk, and although the threat is real, there are steps you can take to minimize it.

Once upon a time, financial pros would tell early retirees that they would need 70% to 80% of their pre-retirement income to cover expenses in retirement. But those are the old rules, and they may or may not apply to you, depending on:

Some retirees end up needing more than 100% of their pre-retirement income. They eat out more, travel more, spend more on grandchildren and other family members, and don’t scale back their wardrobe and other work-related expenses as much as anticipated.

No matter how far along you are into your retirement years, it seems there are always more decisions to make. For example, you might stay in your home initially, or move to a 55-plus community. You might consider a continuing care retirement community (CCRC), aka life plan community, to help you transition to a higher level of care should you need it later in life.

And finally, what do you want your legacy to be? Your estate plan is part of it, but it’s also the impact you’ve made on the world around you. It’s important to communicate, share the family history, and let your intentions be known clearly and openly. No one wants their lasting legacy to be fights, hurt feelings, and a lack of closure.