If you’ve reached the lofty level of $100,000 in your retirement savings, congratulations! This means you’ve already socked away more than many other Americans.
Consider This: 3 Things Retirees Should Sell To Build Their Retirement Savings
Learn More: America’s 50 Most Expensive Retirement Towns
This isn’t a time to rest on your laurels, however. As your retirement may very well last 30 years or more, it will take more than $100,000 to fully fund it. But with a retirement account balance in the six figures, it’s often a good time to take a break and make sure that the rest of your financial life is in order as well.
Here are some of the steps you should take with your finances once your retirement savings reach $100,000.
While having $100,000 in your retirement account is a good step toward securing your long-term financial security, having debt along the way is a surefire recipe for disaster. With credit card interest rates now averaging about 25%, any debt you carry can rapidly spiral out of control.
If you have to divert your cash flow to pay off your debt, that’s money that you can’t sock away toward your investments. If you’ve got over $100,000 in your retirement account, it might be a good time to put those investments on hold and pay off your debt.
An emergency fund is the cornerstone of any solid financial plan. Even if you have six figures in your retirement account, it won’t do you much good if you have a financial emergency.
If your car breaks down or you need to pay for some uncovered medical expenses, taking that money out of your retirement account could actually make things worse. Not only will you be robbing your retirement, but you’ll also pay income taxes and an early withdrawal penalty if you are younger than 59 1/2.
The other option — going into debt — is equally unappealing. Tucking away at least $1,000 into an emergency fund — and ideally, three to six months’ worth of your income — is an important step to staying solvent for the long run.
Be Aware: Avoid This Retirement Savings Mistake That’s Costing Americans Up To $300K
Although having $100,000 in your retirement savings is nothing to sneeze at, it’s also not enough to fund a potentially long lifetime.
Once you’ve saved that much money, you’ve already proven to yourself that you have the financial discipline to save even more. Now, you can slowly increase the amount you put in your retirement account so that you can end up with an even bigger nest egg.
If you have $100,000 now and are saving $100 per month at age 40, for example, you’ll have about $829,000 if you retire at age 65 and earn an 8% annual return. If you can bump that up to just $300 per month instead, your account will end up closer to $1.02 million. That’s an increase of about $191,000.
