How to plan for a fabulously gay retirement

If one of the gay retirement communities above isn’t accessible to you, look for an LGBT-friendly facility with a SAGECare certification.

It may be that you need or will eventually need more customized care. Then, it may be appropriate to consider assisted living.

LGBT assisted living typically offers 24/7 concierge service and may use outside vendors to deliver medical care and other needs.

The best time to start saving and investing for retirement is always now. Too often, especially for LGBT people, we’re emotionally or physically ready to retire before we’re financially ready to retire.

If you’re in your 20s, 30s, 40s or even early 50s, you have time on your side. If you’re older, it’s time to get serious.

1. Calculate your net worth (assets minus liabilities)

The first step in preparing for retirement, your goal, is knowing where you are today. To do that, you must know exactly how much money minus debt you have today.

First, total all your assets, including money saved for emergencies, money in individual retirement accounts (likely a Traditional or Roth IRA), company-sponsored retirement accounts (likely a 401(k) or 403(b)) and Health Savings Account or HSA and any other money and investments you have anywhere else.

Second, total all your liabilities and other debts, including money you owe friends and family, car loans, mortgage, home equity lines of credit on which you’ve drawn and own, student loans and any other money you owe anyone, including Uncle Sam.

Then, subtract your total debts and liabilities from your total assets. If this number’s negative or very low, meaning less than 25 times your projected annual expenses in retirement, you have some savings and investing to do before you can reasonably and comfortably retire by age 65.

2. Calculate how much you’ll be able to spend each year in retirement

Even today, but especially in retirement, you’ll want to be super-meticulous with knowing where every penny comes from and where every penny goes so you have enough money to last throughout retirement. Most experts recommend that you plan on spending between 70-80% of your current pay. So, if you’re spending $50,000 a year, you’ll likely need between $35-40,000 a year.

3. Generate part-time work or a side hustle income

Contrary to popular belief – or hope – you can work in retirement if your retirement income doesn’t meet or exceed your retirement expenses.

4. Plan for Social Security Benefits or a lack thereof

A good rule of thumb for Social Security Benefits is to not rely on Social Security Benefits if you don’t need it.

That said, to estimate what value Social Security might give you, use the Social Security Calculator before claiming Social Security benefits to calculate the optimal age to start taking your benefits. It’s not always when you think.

Social Security Spousal and Survivor Benefits are two of the thousands of reasons why the LGBT community pushed for marriage equality.

We often only think of life insurance when we start growing our families. So, many same-sex couples not planning on having children don’t give life insurance much thought. But today’s life insurance does more than help partners and family members when we pass away. It:

• Protects against creditors: Debts don’t disappear when you die. Depending on the type of debt you have and your financial situation, your loved ones may have to repay your loans. Consider getting life insurance to help pay off your debts after you pass away.
• Leaves an Inheritance: If there are one or more people you’d like to leave an inheritance to, life insurance can help. You can leave an inheritance to family members, friends, former partners, and foster children.