How to write your retirement paycheck

How can I be sure my retirement funds will last my lifetime? This important question is addressed in an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach workshop that will be offered online on Thursdays, Jan. 20 and 27 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Preregister at http://bit.ly/wyrp17807.

Writing Your Retirement Paycheck is designed to provide information and resources needed by those approaching retirement within the next 10 years. The workshop outlines key factors to consider prior to retirement and describes strategies for planning one’s income in retirement.

“For most of us,” says Barb Wollan, Human Sciences Specialist, “our paychecks have been determined by someone else all our lives. But in retirement, many of us are responsible for writing our own paychecks. How will we know how big it should be?”

According to Wollan, topics include inflation, health costs, Social Security, required minimum distributions, income tax, and more. “Individuals need to make their own decisions about retirement,” says Wollan, “but clear and non-commercial information is a necessary ingredient for decision-making.”

Wollan points out that even those who work with a trusted financial professional must ultimately make the decisions themselves. A financial professional can suggest or recommend products and strategies, but it is the consumer who decides and then lives with the results of the decisions.

A fee for the Writing Your Retirement Paycheck workshop will help to off-set direct expenses and to support the Human Sciences County Extension Program.

Pre-registration is required. The registration link for the workshop is http://bit.ly/wyrp17807.

Links for future offerings, including the next online offering in May, are found at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/retirement under “Upcoming Events.” Contact Washington County Extension at 319-653-4811 with any questions.