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Maintaining Your Standard of Living in Retirement

If you’re researching what to do about retirement planning, there’s plenty of information out there. A quick Google search on “retirement planning” will get you at least 79 million references. The prospect of wading through that much information is mind-numbing, so here’s some basic information that can get you started.

As a public education employee, you likely have a state-sponsored retirement plan that will provide needed income for your retirement. But even if you also qualify for Social Security benefits, your combined income will likely fall well short of your current standard of living. The effects of inflation alone will erode your purchasing power, and don’t forget about the rising costs of health care. That’s why a supplemental retirement plan is essential to a financially sound retirement.

NAVA, the National Association of Variable Annuities, offers three guidelines to for Americans saving for retirement:

Investors will likely need 100 percent or more of their pre-retirement incomes in retirement.

With higher retirement-related expenses, investors should save a minimum of 15 percent of their pre-tax income per year.

Review retirement income plans regularly before and during retirement.
These guidelines may seem daunting when you’re trying to make ends meet.

Saving for retirement can be a challenge, but if you take steps to face that challenge, you could meet or even exceed your desired standard of living in retirement.

You may be 5, 10, 20, or 30 years or more away from retirement. Regardless of your retirement horizon, try envisioning life in the future. If you had to retire today, could you afford a pay cut?

You may not have some of your current expenses when you retire. Perhaps your home mortgage will be paid off. But what if you took out a home equity loan? Many of your expenses today will still be with you in retirement and, as mentioned earlier, inflation will erode your retirement savings. Plus, you could have new expenses—maybe long-term care insurance, paying for a grandchild’s education, or the travel you never had time for.

One other thing to think about: We are living longer. Average life expectancy is 75 years for American males and 80 years for females. But that’s an average. You should plan your retirement as though you’ll be on the long side of the equation and could live another 25 or 30 years or more. There’s a real concern that you could outlive your retirement savings.

So how do you meet these mounting challenges for a secure retirement?

Those who start saving early, even in smaller amounts, have a tremendous advantage over those who wait. The effect of time on retirement earnings is powerful, so start saving early and increase your retirement contributions each year as you get salary increases.

To get started, contact an NEA Valuebuilder^® Representative. This highly trained professional will be able to help you craft a plan that addresses your savings challenge and retirement dreams. With expert help, you can estimate how much you need to save and which investments are best for your supplemental savings plan.

There is much to consider, but you don’t have to go it alone. With help from your NEA Valuebuilder representative you can feel comfortable about planning for your retirement.

For more information or to contact an NEA Valuebuilder representative, call 1-800-NEA-VALU (632-8258). Start saving today!

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You should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the mutual funds and variable annuities available under the NEA Valuebuilder Program before investing. You may obtain a prospectus that contains this and other information about the mutual funds and variable annuities by calling our National Service Center at 1-800-888-2461. You should read the prospectus carefully before investing. Investing in variable annuities and mutual funds involves risk and there is no guarantee of investment results.

The National Education Association of the United States (“NEA”) established the NEA Valuebuilder Program to encourage its members to save for retirement. Security Distributors, Inc. and certain of its affiliates (collectively referred to herein as “Security Benefit”) make available retirement plan products under the NEA Valuebuilder Program pursuant to an agreement with NEA’s wholly-owned subsidiary, NEA’s Member Benefits Corporation (“MBC”). Security Benefit pays an annual fee for services to MBC under the agreement. NEA and MBC are not affiliated with Security Benefit. Neither NEA nor MBC is a registered broker/dealer. All securities brokerage services are performed exclusively by your sales representative’s broker/dealer and not by NEA or MBC.

The NEA Valuebuilder Variable Annuity TSA, Contract Form No. V6029, also includes a Fixed Account. The NEA Valuebuilder Variable Annuity TSA is distributed by Security Distributors, Inc. and is issued by Security Benefit Life Insurance Company. The NEA Valuebuilder 403(b)(7) is a Custodial Account under §403(b)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code. The NEA Valuebuilder Mutual Fund 457 is a Trust Account under §457 of the Internal Revenue Code. The NEA Valuebuilder IRA is an IRA Custodial Account under §408(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Security Distributors, Inc. is a subsidiary of Security Benefit Corporation (“Security Benefit”).

Security Distributors, Inc.

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