Nobody Wants a Wonky Armchair

Scenario: You're shopping online and spot a gorgeous armchair that would go perfectly in your living room. You excitedly order it, dreaming of curling up there with a good book and coffee, but when it arrives, it's missing a leg!

Don't let this happen to your financial future. You need at least three or four steady streams of income to enjoy a cozy and comfortable retirement.

Even though retirement might seem like a long way off, the sooner you start establishing multiple sources of income, the better.

You Already Have One Leg Covered

Retirement income can come from many sources, including pensions or 401(k)s, investment accounts, Social Security benefits, part-time employment and more.

Luckily, you have one income stream covered through TCDRS’ automatic savings. A percentage of every paycheck is deposited in your TCDRS account. Your account balance grows at a fixed rate of 7% annual compound interest, no matter what.

Once you’re vested and eligible, you’ll get a lifetime monthly benefit from TCDRS if you choose to retire.

You can estimate what a TCDRS benefit might mean to you someday by signing into your online account at TCDRS.org.

Legs Two and Three … and Four

Next, consider your other possible income streams in retirement. Does your employer participate in Social Security? Are you building your personal savings? Have you started a 401(k), 457(b) or an IRA?

Combining some or all of these can help you stabilize your financial outlook for retirement — even if you don’t know the specific amounts you’ll receive yet. Talk to a financial advisor if you wonder what might be best for you.

The bottom line is that it’s never too early to start thinking about how nice it will be to be able to relax in that stable financial armchair that you built over the years with hard work and savings.

Personal Finance