One of the reasons why far too many people find themselves unprepared for retirement is because of the fact that they are under the mistaken impression that Social Security will provide them with adequate retirement income. Of course it is challenging for some people to keep an eye on the future while taking care of their responsibilities in the present, but you do have to keep your head up and out of the sand and deal with reality as it is. If you are not aware of the details surrounding Social Security you may receive a rude awakening after it is too late to make adjustments.

Social Security is the primary source of income for the majority of its recipients. In fact, approximately one-third of the people who are receiving Social Security say that it comprises at least 90% of their income. The average Social Security check is going to vary virtually month by month as new people join the rolls and others drop off. Recently we were seeing a figure of $1072 as being the average payout, but at the present time the average is $1082 according to the Associated Press. That works out to about $13,000 per year, hardly enough to support a comfortable retirement.

There had been no cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients since 2009, but they got some good news recently when it was announced that there will be a COLA that recipients start receiving in January of 2012. This cost-of-living adjustment will add 3.6% to Social Security checks, and this equates to an average of $39 per month for the typical Social Security recipient.

Any increase is better than no increase, but if you are a senior citizen and you rely heavily on Social Security this is not going to change your life. When you examine the matter it becomes clear that retirement planning is extraordinarily important if you want to be able to enjoy your golden years. If you do not have a plan in place, you may want to arrange for a consultation with an experienced retirement planning attorney as soon as possible so that you can be certain that you have the financial resources that you need to make the most of the latter portion of your life.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

You hear the word “retirement” bandied about in a particular way, with people seeming to be proceeding from the perspective that retirement is an absolute given. But the reality is that retirement is not guaranteed by any stretch of the imagination. To be able to retire you have to have the financial resources to meet all of your expenses without earning a paycheck for what could be a very long time. The average lifespan in the United States is nearing 79 years of age, and the segment of the population that is 85 and older is the fastest growing group among us.

Social Security alone is not going to provide enough for most people to maintain a truly comfortable lifestyle. Plus, there is a lot talk in Washington about cutting the program along with Medicare and Medicaid. So sitting back expecting your government benefits to take care of everything may be a bad idea.

Those who serve in the United States armed forces have an opportunity to create a very realistic path to a comfortable retirement. Veterans who have served for at least twenty years are entitled to a pension for life, and of course many people who join the service do so at a young age. So it would be possible to retire from the service after having earned a pension when you are around forty years of age and then embark on a career in the civilian sector for 20 or 25 years, taking advantage of your company’s 401(k) plan while socking away the military pension that you receive.

By the time you reach your full retirement age as defined by the Social Security Administration, you will be receiving your Social Security benefit and your military pension on an ongoing basis for the rest of your life. And, your nest egg should be considerable, comprised of the combination of the pension payments that you saved for a couple of decades along with your 401(k).

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

There are those who think that retirement will just take care of itself someday, but the reality is that retirement is just a word; it is not an entitlement. This may sound like an instance in overstating the obvious, but you can’t retire if you can afford to live without earning a consistent paycheck. The reason why we are mentioning something that would seem to be so self apparent is because the reality is that many people seem to overlook this reality.

There are those who simply keep putting the matter on the back burner without giving it any thought. And there are others who assume that Social Security will take care of all their financial needs when they reach retirement age and that Medicare will pay for all of their medical expenses. Unless you can live on a very limited fixed income Social Security is not going to provide you with a very comfortable retirement given the fact that the average Social Security payout at the present time is around $1070 a month. Given the mood in Washington for cost-cutting, it is unlikely that Social Security benefits are going to skyrocket anytime soon.

So, the point is that you have to be proactive about saving for your retirement. One of the most effective and basic ways of doing this is by contributing into the 401(k) plan that is probably offered to you by your employer. Contributions into these retirement savings accounts are made with pretax earnings, so you get a tax savings right off the bat because your taxable income is reduced by the amount of the contributions that you make into your retirement fund.

Many employers will match your contribution up to a certain percentage of your salary, and this is something that everyone should most certainly take advantage of because it is nothing more or less than an offer of free money.

The best way to gain an understanding of how best to take advantage of your 401(k) opportunity and weave it into a comprehensive long-term plan for the future would be to arrange for a consultation with an experienced retirement planning attorney. He or she will listen as you explain your goals, evaluate your financial potential, and map out a plan that leads to a comfortable retirement.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Many people are not aware of just how fast the population of the United States is aging. Senior citizens are the fastest growing age group, and believe it or not there are 10,000 people applying for Social Security every day. This is a rather attention-getting statistic, but the exclamation point is the fact that 10,000 people are expected to apply daily for the next two decades. This is due to the fact that the baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age, and there was a recent AP-LifeGoesStrong.com poll conducted in an effort to gain an understanding of how prepared baby boomers are for retirement.

The results of this poll were not encouraging. 44% of the people who responded asserted that they don’t feel as though they will have the financial resources necessary to enjoy a comfortable retirement. As hard as this may be to believe, 24% of baby boomers polled said that they had zero savings put away for their retirement years. One fourth of poll respondents stated that they don’t think they will ever retire, and 67% expected to work in some capacity even after they are formally retired.

64% of the baby boomers polled said that they were going to be relying on Social Security as the foundation of their retirement income. If you look into the relevant statistics provided by the United States Social Security Administration, the average monthly Social Security benefit in 2010 was $1072. Unless you live under the proverbial rock you are aware of the fact that the federal government is looking to cut spending, so the odds of Social Security benefits steadily increasing are probably slim and none.

The statistics are telling indeed. To be ready to enjoy a comfortable retirement you must plan ahead diligently and stick to your plan. If you do not already have a plan in place, you may want to be proactive about arranging for a consultation with an experienced retirement planning attorney so that you can set an intelligent course for the future.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.