Guaranteed Retirement Income: Cover Your Wants, Not Just Your Needs
Everybody needs a steady retirement paycheck to cover the basics: shelter, clothing, food, transportation and healthcare. But what about wants beyond those five basic needs? “People aren’t happy just meeting those living expenses. They say, ‘I want more. I want to live a comfortable life,'” says Michael R. Harris, a senior educational financial professional with the Alliance for Lifetime Income. “You’ve got to have clothes on your back. If you have that, you can survive and have a life. But it’s not a full life.”
Essentially, people are creating a new definition for essential needs. Wants become needs. Call it “comfort creep.” It’s a bit like keeping up with the Joneses, but instead of craving what your neighbors have, it’s a matter of acknowledging what you personally need to be comfortable in retirement—and then figuring out how to fund it securely.