![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Richard-Sklar.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAt some point, retirement stops being an abstract idea and becomes a reality that’s just around the corner. Experts say the sooner you start planning for retirement, the earlier and more successful it can be.<\/p>\n
When you’re ready, make sure you are<\/p>\n
\u201cVery nice to meet you, please come back and see us,\u201d said Richard Sklar to a customer as she left Nick the Greek restaurant in downtown San Diego.<\/p>\n
The regional manager is 59 years old, but don\u2019t tell him that.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Richard Sklar chats with a customer. The regional manager is 59 but says he still has lots of gas left in the tank to think about retiring.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never been healthier in my life, never felt better,\u201d Sklar said, adding he\u2019s not even thinking about what he calls the \u201cR\u201d word (it\u2019s retirement).<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, not at all,” Sklar said. “I mean, I don\u2019t really use that word, and people I know \u2014 very successful people \u2014 really don’t use that word.”<\/p>\n
Use it or not, Sklar does have a retirement plan tucked away deep in his back pocket. Maybe not the best one, he admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not worried about it,\u201d Sklar said without hesitation. \u201cI\u2019m worried about what would happen if I stopped doing the things I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sklar may plan to work unti the wheels come off, but most would rather not, according to Gilbert Gaeta Alvarez, a financial planning strategist with Pure Financial.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/gilbert-gaeta.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Financial-planning strategist Gilbert Gaeta Alvarez explains how to start or reassess retirement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve scrimped and saved, they bought the home, they put their kids through college, and now they\u2019re finally focusing on themselves and saying, \u2018Hey, I need to retire,’ ” Gaeta Alvarez said. ” ‘I need to figure a plan for myself.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Gaeta said the No. 1 mistake people make when retiring is thinking they\u2019re ready when they\u2019re not. Especially in San Diego. Especially if they\u2019re helping their kids get their lives going.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe you are helping your kids pay for college or a down payment on their first home,\u201d Gaeta Alvarez said, explaining that new retirees are often surprised by how quickly budgets shrink. \u201cSo the notion that you\u2019re just going to tighten your belt is really difficult to overcome sometimes.”<\/p>\n
Let’s get the retirement ball rolling<\/p>\n
The average retirement age for a man is 64, and for a woman is 62, so let\u2019s start there as we look at Social Security payments. It\u2019s a sliding scale that starts at 62 and stops at 70. Age 67 qualifies you for full retirement, and waiting until you\u2019re 70 gets you a bit more.<\/p>\n
People often forget about medical expenses, which can get pricier with age. If you no longer have access to an employer-based insurance plan, you\u2019ll have to come up with one on your own until you qualify for Medicare at 65.<\/p>\n
What do you hope to do when you retire? Gaeta says many retirees find themselves with a lot more time on their hands, which often translates to more spending. Will you be traveling? Is going back to work an option should you fall short?<\/p>\n
Let’s crunch retirement numbers<\/p>\n
Calculate what your yearly income will be after retiring, including Social Security payments and any income from rental properties you may own.<\/p>\n
If you have a 401(k) or an IRA, split it into 25 years, as life expectancy in the United States is about 80, but we\u2019ll give you a few more years to be on the safe side.<\/p>\n
Now subtract your annual financial obligations and add about 3% every year to account for inflation.<\/p>\n
What you have left will roughly define your retirement lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look at things from a purely mathematical point of view,\u201d said Gaeta, recognizing that it\u2019s also important to know the person\u2019s personality and attitude toward retirement to develop a complete plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe proverbial, I\u2019m going to bounce my last check,\u201d Gaeta Alvarez said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Again, this is a very basic way of looking at retirement plans, but hopefully, it gets you in the right headspace as you look to your future.<\/p>\n
Sklar may be on his second wind, but he may want to take out that “R” word plan from his back pocket and have another look.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At some point, retirement stops being an abstract idea and becomes a reality that’s just around the corner.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[45,49,48,133,121483,131,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-262451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-finance","12":"tag-nbc-7-responds","13":"tag-personal-finance","14":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}