Want to Retire Early?

November 2003

You’re close to reaching your financial goals. You’ve decided it soon will be time to turn the business over to your children. Or you want to take the time to travel or devote yourself to other pursuits while you’re still young. Whatever the reason, you dream of retiring early. But turning that dream into reality involves more than just making sure you have enough money in your retirement accounts. In fact, if you retire early, you likely won’t be able to take distributions from your retirement accounts for many years — unless you don’t mind losing some of your hard-earned money to a 10% early withdrawal penalty.

Laying the groundwork
When planning for retirement — especially if you’re planning to retire early — it’s important to ask yourself a few questions.

You need to consider realistically how long you think you’ll live. This will help determine how much money you’ll need to retire comfortably. And remember that you can’t make retirement plan contributions unless you have earned income, so once you fully retire, you’ll have to rely on the underlying investments for your plan to grow.

You also need to determine at what age you plan to stop working. Ensuring that you have liquid assets outside your retirement plans to last until you can begin penalty-free withdrawals and are eligible for Social Security benefits is important.

Important retirement-related dates
If you would like to retire early, you need to be aware of certain key dates and how they may affect your plan. With that in mind, consider these key ages:

• 59 1/2. You can start taking penalty-free distributions from your qualified retirement plan. The 10% early withdrawal penalty is in addition to any income taxes. (You can start taking penalty-free distributions at age 55 from non-IRA accounts if you retired from the company running the plan on or after you turned 55.)
   
• 65. You won’t be eligible for Medicare until you turn 65. This means you’ll need to find and purchase basic health insurance to cover yourself until you turn 65. If you’re married and your spouse doesn’t work or if you have dependent children, you also may need to find insurance for them.
   
• 65-67. You can start receiving full Social Security payments when you reach the normal retirement age, which is gradually increasing from 65 to 67. And this monthly check may be larger than you think. For someone retiring at full retirement age this year (age 65 and two months), the maximum monthly payment is $1,721. If you retire earlier or later than the normal retirement age, your payments will be smaller or larger, respectively, within certain limits.
   
• 70 1/2. If you are retired, you must start taking distributions from your qualified retirement plan or IRA (unless it is a Roth IRA) at age 701/2 or face a 50% penalty on the amount you were required to withdraw but didn’t.

Don’t forget to plan for taxes
As you approach retirement, especially if you’re planning to retire early, it’s important to consider the tax implications of your investments and retirement savings. The tax basis of your investments can be an important consideration at this point — the lower the basis in your investments the higher the tax hit when you sell them.
 

Some types of retirement savings also can generate income that will give you a huge tax hit in the year of your retirement unless you plan properly:

• Nonqualified-deferred compensation. You can’t roll funds in this type of plan over into an IRA, and you’ll have to pay taxes on this income when you receive it. To extend the tax deferral, you can opt for an annuity rather than a lump-sum distribution. With an annuity, you’ll pay taxes only on the amount you receive each year. Your payments can be spread over a fixed number of years, your lifetime, or the lifetimes of you and your spouse.
   
• Ownership interests. If you have at least a partial ownership stake in your company or partnership, you must consider the tax implications of leaving that arrangement. The situation could create liability for a substantial long-term capital gains tax due in the current year. With proper planning, however, you can defer the tax. One way is through an installment sale. If your sale qualifies, you could receive payments over, say, five years, rather than in a lump sum. Your tax payments would then spread out and become lower during the same interval.

Certain income tax planning strategies also can help reduce your tax bite in the year you retire. For example, you can increase your itemized deductions by making charitable contributions and pre-paying the next year’s property and state income taxes in the year you retire. But also beware of the alternative minimum tax. Consulting your tax advisor is especially important when you retire early.

Where you are today
Retiring early may give you the freedom to pursue new interests, watch your children take over your business, and spend more time with your family. But early retirement also requires special consideration to make sure you can continue to live comfortably. Take the time now to work with your advisor to evaluate your current situation, your retirement goals, and your plan for achieving them. You may also want to consult with your attorney to ensure your estate plan is updated to reflect your new situation.

Want more information?
For help planning your retirement portfolio, contact your Relationship Manager, or call the Northern Funds Center at 800/595-9111.