Area Extension Agent Farm Management Wapakoneta Area

Many folks think of "planning for retirement" as something you start to do at about age 60 or 62, or naybe even 65. What they may mean is making plans for drawing Social Security benefits. But, really, there are things we do all during our lives (at least our adult lives) that directly or Indirectly are part of our retirement planning. Self-employed persons may be able to significantly affect their Social Security benefits by "nanaging " their self-employment income during their earning years. Salaried persons have very I ittle control over their Social Security contri-butions or benef Its. But beyond that, our pattern of property accumulation and ownership, of busi-ness growth,.as we·11 as our level of living during our earn Ing years wi 11 a 11 have a bear Ing on our I i ves du r i n-g ret I rement. So, bas.lcal ly, we have al I started to plan for ret I rement whether we have thought of It as such or not! How many years should we plan for? The average life expectancy of a 65-year-old person today here In the U1 I ted States Is about another fifteen years, and the odds of reaching the age of 90 are about 1 in 10, so don't plan for too short a period. RETIREMENT GOAL