Welcome to tomorrow. Prepare now to retire well later.
At this point in your life, you probably have a number of financial goals, like buying a home, sending your children to college or university, travelling and saving for retirement. Prioritizing these goals can be a juggling act, which means that saving for retirement can sometimes fall by the wayside. The following is a subset of the BMO Retirement Checklist, which provides tangible action items that you can do now to help you retire when and how you want.
Make saving easier with a strategy that works for you.
- Set up a Continuous Savings Plan that automatically puts money into your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RSP). Investing smaller amounts regularly is easier than coming up with a lump sum at the end of the year. This allows you to take advantage of dollar cost averaging for any investments that fluctuate with the market. The result of this continuous investment is that more shares tend to be purchased when prices are low and fewer shares are purchased when prices are high.
- Participate in employer savings plans. Some employers will match your contributions up to a maximum, so be sure to contribute enough to take advantage of your employer's match.
Know where your money is going, so you can keep more of it.
- Create a weekly or monthly budget to understand how you're spending money. You may uncover areas where you can cut back spending and apply those funds towards an RSP, TFSA or other savings vehicle, or to pay down debt
Consider your entire financial picture.
- Create a financial plan that includes retirement and any other major life goals you may have. A BMO investment professional can guide you and help build your plan. Ask us about the BMO Take Charge of Your Retirement™ program.
Protect yourself and your loved ones.
- Think about how a major life-changing event like an illness or disability could affect you and your savings. Determine if the coverage you already have through work or other sources is enough. Consider purchasing life insurance, critical illness insurance, and/or long-term care insurance.
Want more information? For the full checklist and to create your retirement plan,
speak with a BMO investment professional at your local branch.
