Retirement planning tends to follow a simple formula: save consistently, invest for growth and let time do the heavy lifting. But somewhere in your 50s, that formula needs to shift as retirement comes closer.<\/p>\n
Learn More: How To Turn $100K Into a Million: Your Step-by-Step Guide<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Find Out: 10\u00a0Clever Ways Retirees Are Earning Up To $1K per Month\u00a0From\u00a0Home<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n GOBankingRates spoke to retirement experts who explained strategies for the right portfolio balance<\/a> after age 50, which shapes how comfortably you can live for decades after.<\/p>\n Why Your 50s Are A Key Decade For Retirement Planning <\/p>\n Your 50s mark a transition from abstract planning to real deadlines, or as Michael McSweeney, financial advisor at Ascend Wealth Partners<\/a>, explained, preparing your portfolio at this stage is \u201cwhen retirement stops being an idea and starts becoming a real deadline.\u201d<\/p>\n Retirees have to look more closely at whether their savings are robust enough to support them later without depending on market upswings every year.<\/p>\n Read Next: This \u2018Boring\u2019 Investment Could Be the Secret to Never Running Out of Retirement Income<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n The Shift From Growth To Income Planning <\/p>\n Many investors assume their 50s mean dialing back risk dramatically but Daniel S. Romero, CFP and financial advisor with Romero Wealth Management said, \u201cI push back hard on the idea that age fifty means it\u2019s time to go conservative. You could easily have thirty-five years ahead of you.\u201d<\/p>\n However, it is a good time to shift from accumulation to income planning, McSweeney said. In this decade, your investments need to generate reliable income without forcing withdrawals during market downturns.<\/p>\n What a Typical Portfolio Allocation Looks Like After 50 <\/p>\n There is no one-size-fits-all allocation, but McSweeney noted that most people in their 50s should not be as conservative as they think.<\/p>\n Romero said a good starting point is 60% to 70% equities and then gradually walking that back as retirement gets closer.<\/p>\n However, he added that other factors like pensions, Social Security and income needs should guide allocation decisions, not age alone.<\/p>\n Why a \u2018Bucket Strategy\u2019 Can Help Balance Growth and Stability <\/p>\n Rather than treating your portfolio as one pool of money, use the \u201cbucket\u201d approach, or give \u201cdifferent parts of the portfolio different jobs,\u201d McSweeney said.<\/p>\n Romero broke it down: \u201cNear-term money in stable, accessible vehicles, mid-term in moderate income-generating investments and longer-horizon money stays in equities because it has time to ride out downturns.\u201d<\/p>\n This structure allows investors to stay invested in stocks while reducing the risk of selling during downturns.<\/p>\n Why Stocks Still Play a Critical Role After Age 50 <\/p>\n Despite growing closer to retirement, stocks are still essential for long-term purchasing power.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you move everything into conservative investments too early, inflation will slowly eat away at your purchasing power,\u201d McSweeney said.<\/p>\n Romero agreed: \u201cIf you retire at 62 and live to 90, the money you won\u2019t touch for twenty years absolutely needs to be working hard.\u201d<\/p>\n Look to greater equity exposure, such as dividend-paying or value-oriented stocks.<\/p>\n Tax Diversification Becomes Critical <\/p>\n In your 50s, diversification should include tax considerations. \u201cMost people will retire with money in different types of accounts \u2026 each one is taxed differently. If you understand how to use them together, you can control how much tax you pay,\u201d McSweeney said.<\/p>\n Spreading money across traditional pre-tax accounts, Roth accounts and taxable accounts gives you real flexibility to manage your tax bill in retirement, Romero added.<\/p>\n How Often You Should Review Your Portfolio in Your 50s <\/p>\n Regular adjustments become essential as retirement nears. Review your portfolio at least once a year, every year, McSweeney said, especially since income, tax laws and timelines all evolve.<\/p>\n Review both to rebalance but also to look at the full financial picture, including expenses, Social Security timing and healthcare planning, Romero said.<\/p>\n The most effective portfolios should deliver income, manage taxes and withstand whatever the market does next.<\/p>\n More From GOBankingRates<\/p>\n This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com<\/a>: The Retirement Portfolio Experts Say Works Best After Age 50<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Retirement planning tends to follow a simple formula: save consistently, invest for growth and let time do the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[72,176,27450,61,60,218689,174,175,204159,15595,1544,1615],"class_list":["post-512067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-financial-advisor","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-michael-mcsweeney","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-portfolio-allocation","tag-retirement-income","tag-retirement-planning","tag-social-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=512067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/512068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=512067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=512067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}