Getting Ready for Retirement

Budgeting

Budgeting for retirement is just as crucial as setting a household budget while you’re working. Estimating a budget for retirement is important because:

• It will help you to discern the income you’ll need in retirement.
• It will help you decide at what age you can or should retire.
• It will help you live into your goals during retirement, so life is as full as you hope it will be. 

To estimate your budget in retirement, use one of these tools:

Vanguard Retirement Budget Calculator

How Much Can I Afford to Spend in Retirement?

Fidelity NetBenefits articles on retirement

From Social Security benefits to building a gap for Medicare, we all need experts to guide us. Thankfully, our partner Fidelity has a library of resources to help with your retirement planning. The NetBenefits Retirement Library is a great place to start. Please note that you’ll need your login credentials to access the articles.

Read up on retirement

Healthcare in retirement

Getting familiar with healthcare options in retirement is important. It will affect how you plan financially for retirement. To get started, work through Fidelity’s on-demand online workshop, “Prepare for the Reality of Healthcare in Retirement.”

For the most current information about Medicare, visit the official Medicare website.

Social Security

How will social security factor into your retirement income and budget plan? Create an online account with the U.S. Social Security Administration to calculate your benefits.

To help you strategize when and how to start claiming Social Security benefits, use this interactive tool from Fidelity.

Ready to retire?

If you are an RCA-ordained minister, please contact your classis clerk to declare retirement. The classis will notify the BOBS office once your retirement is approved. We will send you a retirement kit after receiving the retirement notification from your classis.

If you are a lay employee, please contact your last RCA employer to complete the Participant Retirement/Termination Notification Form and return it to the BOBS office.