This research report was produced by Colorado Wealth Management Fund with assistance from Big Dog Investments.

Future retirees need to understand lifestyles play a major role in retiring. While some retirees may be just fine pulling in $30,000, others may be looking for significantly more. Here are a few things to consider when looking toward retirement:

These are very important questions when figuring out how to plan for retirement.

Maybe youre retired and only need to take into account your personal costs. If not, keep in mind any expenses which may occur:

These are all important questions and there are many more. Some retirees make it to retirement and haven't accounted for all the costs they would be taking on. Planning for retirement is essential for success.

Planning can be the difference between a $2,000,000 portfolio and having nothing. The number of people who arent investing in their future is heart-breaking. This isnt because they dont have the money to put aside. More often than not, its because they havent been taught to plan for their future, or in this case retirement. An investor who saves early and lives below their means may live lavishly in retirement, while someone making $120,000 a year before retirement may have nothing.

Trying to save for retirement and ordering pizza once a week? Stop it. Heres a chart from the University of Illinois:

Debt. That thing you shouldnt have in retirement. Find me someone who says they cant put money aside, and in almost every case Ill show you someone who is overspending (exclude single parents). Consequently, they are not saving as much money as they could. Credit card debt is an epidemic and retiring with it is generally a terrible idea. Pay off the highest interest rate and work down. Its sad to see so many people in debt and just ignoring massive interest rates. If a loan has an interest rate of 0.5% its a different story. High interest rate loans will eat into retirement income like cockroaches feasting during the middle of the night in a garbage can.

Planning on retiring at some point? It would be a good idea to take a year and pretend you are retired. During that year, track all your expenses. This should give a future retiree a good reference point for what income is needed. Also, make sure to be realistic about the returns you will get in a portfolio. Its much better to base your retirement on 3% to 4% a year according to the Trinity study. There is nothing wrong with targeting higher returns, but investors should build a suitable margin of safety.

But CWMF, you say 3% to 4% when the S&P 500 has seen massively higher annualized returns since inception. That is correct and should be a view for investors who are planning decades down the road. Once retired, retirees often cant sustain a significant drawdown. If youre retiring in 20 years, volatility is a smaller concern. If youre a retiree, you need to be more vigilant.

There will be some cases where portfolios are built around living off sustainable dividends. Most dividend champions will not see a cut to their dividend even in the event of a serious market panic.

There are several things to keep in mind when managing a portfolio. Here are a few:

Vanguard suggests investors consider long-term care insurance:

While you're considering your retirement health care coverage, give some serious thought to your needs 20 or 30 years down the road. There may come a time when you need ongoing care in a facility or at home.

Medicaid will only pay for long-term care once you've exhausted most of your financial resources. So if you hope to leave a legacy for your children or other loved ones, look into long-term care insurance.

The costs for these policies will increase as you get older, and you may not qualify at all if your health declinesso it's smart to consider buying a policy now.

Retirees could maximize their lifetime benefits from social security if they knew how long they would live. Generally speaking, retirees should wait as long as possible to claim if they believe they will live past 80. If they do not expect to reach 80, then they should file early. All of the complicated math can be boiled down to those simple estimates. However, investors should not delay Social Security payments while making payments on high interest rate loans. The growth rate for Social Security payments is generally in the 6% to 9% range for each additional year the benefits are delayed.

Colorado Wealth Management Fund and Big Dog Investments built two strong portfolios in this dividend stocks article. Given the criteria was that the companies must pay a dividend, these are good options for most retirees and investors with a long-time horizon.

Here are the portfolios:

Big Dog Investments

CWMF

1

(PM)

Philip Morris International Inc

(MO)

Altria Group, Inc.

3

(KO)

Coca-Cola Company

(TGT)

Target Corporation

4

(WMT)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

(NNN)

National Retail Properties

5

(O)

Realty Income Corporation

(STOR)

STORE Capital Corporation

6

(JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson

(SKT)

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers,

7

(HD)

Home Depot, Inc. (The)

(TAP)

Molson Coors Brewing

8

(IBM)

International Business Machines

(VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc.

9

(T)

AT&T Inc.

(XOM)

Exxon Mobil Corporation

10

(AAPL)

Apple Inc.

(CVX)

Chevron Corporation

11

(ABBV)

AbbVie Inc.

(GD)

General Dynamics Corporation

12

(V)

Visa Inc.

(MA)

MasterCard Incorporated

13

(MMM)

3M Company

(LMT)

Lockheed Martin Corporation

14

(GM)

General Motors Company

(TSN)

Tyson Foods, Inc.

15

(KHC)

The Kraft Heinz Company

(GIS)

General Mills, Inc.

16

(DG)

Dollar General Corporation

(K)

Kellogg Company

17

(CSCO)

Cisco Systems, Inc.

See the article here:
How To Retire Early With Money - Seeking Alpha