How To Reboot Your Retirement

Many people find it difficult to retire. The concept is relatively simple: Stop working and hope that Social Security and savings cover all your bills.

But in real life, it doesn’t always work that way. Mark Miller, who writes for The New York Times
Now
And Reuters has written a unique and useful book for those who need to “reboot” their retirement.

Miller’s bookRetirement Reboot: Common Sense Financial Strategies for Getting Back on Track » (Agate, 2023), making a big nod to the reality that millions of Americans were caught in the loop by the pandemic, inflation, and job dislocation. This ruined his plan for a normal retirement.

Miller notes, ‘A substantial proportion of Americans over the age of 50 are facing an almost certain sharp decline in their standard of living in the run-up to their retirement. “Today’s unfavorable macroeconomic conditions make careful decision-making all the more important: For millions, the COVID-19 pandemic brought retirement savings to an abrupt halt, only to have rising inflation halt their progress.”

What can you do to get back on track? Miller has a basket full of useful strategies.

• Make a plan, think about the time of retirement. It means “careful budgeting and generating income from work even after retirement.
• Optimize Social Security to get the highest payout possible.
• Navigating Medicare, which has become even more complicated in recent years.
• Build up savings, and tap Home Equity.
• Explore current strategies like planning for long-term care and taking advantage of special assistance for low-income workers.

Whether you have little savings — or none at all — Miller’s strategies can help you make the most of your remaining working years and resume the retirement you deserve.