Once you hit your 50s, retirement is no longer something happening far off in the future.
Whether you have been a super-saver your entire career or are just starting to think about retirement, it’s time to take a serious look at what you expect your golden years to look like.
For those in their 50s, “it is the most important time to really figure out where they are, reassess their goals long term and really focus on planning,” said certified financial planner Diahann Lassus, co-founder, president and chief investment officer of wealth-management firm Lassus Wherley, a subsidiary of Peapack-Gladstone Bank.
That means crunching the numbers and really thinking about when you want to retire — and how you are going to get there.
While it may be easy to get distracted by other financial obligations, like helping your kids pay for college or a young adult child moving back home due to the coronavirus pandemic, remember to “put your mask on first,” said Lassus, a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.
“You have to take care of yourself because no matter how brilliant your children are, they really aren’t going to want to support you later in life,” she said.