Plan Well, Retire Well: Your How-to Guide

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Plan Well, Retire Well Your How-to Guide

• University of Illinois Extension
• Consumer Family Economics Team
• Contact Dr. Angela Lyons
• October 21, 2002

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Project Background

• Project began Fall 1999
• Funding Source Lauritsen Family Foundation
• Work group team assigned to project
• Research and development began Winter 1999

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Questions We Asked

• What do people need to know to effectively save
  money and plan for retirement?
• What helps younger people save money early?
• How can family economics educators best provide
  information to help people plan for retirement?

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Gathering Information

• Interviews with financial experts
• Review of literature and demographics
• Storyboard exercise with Illinois educators
• Focus groups with Illinois citizens

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Results of Research Review and Expert Interviews

• Retirement preparation is often inadequate
• Amounts accumulated for retirement are low
• Begin saving too late
• Prepared for an unrealistically short retirement

• Strategies help with retirement preparation
• Using tax-deferred plans regularly
• Writing goals is important

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Storyboard Session

• Explore retirement planning questions and
  concerns of target audience.
• Suggest possible methods for reaching audience
  places, delivery method, etc.
• Brainstorm possible content for a retirement
  curriculum.

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Focus Group Sessions

• Five focus groups conducted in Illinois
• Discussion themes included
• Current retirement planning and savings behaviors
• Jobs and retirement planning
• Information sources for financial information

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Current Retirement Planning and Savings
Behaviors

• Building wealth
• Large variability in amount saved
• Employer-sponsored plans frequently used
• Risk management
• Barriers
• Difficult to save money
• How much is enough?
• Unknown medical costs

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Jobs and Retirement Planning

• Tax-deferred plans often used
• Job transitions
• I cashed one retirement plan out and one was
  for so little money I think it has just slowly
  dwindled away.
• I quit a company at 9 ½ years and every bit of
  that is gone.

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Information Sources

• Pros and cons of employer-provided information
• Preferred sources family, friends, Internet
• Trust is important
• I have trouble trusting. How do I know if that
  person is telling me the right thing? How do I
  know if the information is right and whats not?
  I dont know who to trust.

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Design for Plan Well, Retire Well

• Importance of planning for retirement early
• Keep it simple
• Preferred delivery method Internet

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Time Makes a Difference
Start Saving
Save for Retirement
Choose Investments
Keep Saving
Goal Setting
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Time Makes a Difference
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Time Makes a Difference
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Save for RetirementTax-deferred Plans
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Save for Retirement

• Delaying taxes
• Tax-deferred plans
• Save at your job
• IRAs and more

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Choose Investments

• Investment basics
• Mutual funds
• Investment risks
• Control risk
• Invest your money
• Costs of investing
• Informed investing

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Risks associated with Stocks
Market Risk
Business Risk
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Controlling Risk Reduces Uncertainty
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Dollar Cost Averaging
Invest on a regular basis over extended period
of time
Invest the same dollar amount each time
Buy more shares when prices are down, fewer
shares when prices are up
Reduces market risk and exchange rate risk
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Goal Setting
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Goal Setting
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Marketing Plan Well, Retire Well
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Job Fairs
Payroll Stubs
Alumni Newsletters
Chat Sites
UI Extension Programs
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• We gratefully acknowledge the financial support
  of the Lauritsen Family Foundation for this
  project.

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Materials can be accessed at

• http//www.web.ace.uiuc.edu/cfe

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Any Questions?
  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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