What Do You Want to Be When You Grow into Retirement? Self-directing Your Retirement Portfolio Can Help You Live Those Dreams

Published on January 9, 2018

Many people spend years dreaming of their retirement and what they’ll do to fill their time. Others retire more suddenly without much thought.

Whatever the reason or the timing, some forethought about how you plan to spend your retirement years is helpful—not only to help frame your time once you’re off the workday treadmill but also to help plan for your financial needs.

So what do you want to do when you grow into retirement? Will you:

• Travel around the country or around the world?
• Go back to school to finish a degree or attain an advanced degree?
• Enter a training or certification program for a new venture or part-time career?
• Take courses to learn a new hobby or skill just for fun?
• Donate your time and talent as a volunteer for a non-profit organization or a cause?
• Sit on a beach and read every great American novel ever written?

Whatever you decide to do will require a certain amount of financial independence—and that’s where the planning comes in.

When it comes to financial independence in retirement, self-directing your investments can be a great way to reach your financial goals and put your dreams into motion.

If you’re someone who’s comfortable making all your own investment decisions (with or without the counsel of a trusted advisor), and you have nontraditional investments in mind for your retirement portfolio, self-direction might be right for you. Self-directed retirement plans allow you to include a broad array of non-publicly traded alternative assets that are not allowed in typical plans. These include real estate, commodities, precious metals, private placements and many others.

You may self-direct a Traditional or Roth IRA, a SIMPLE IRA or SEP IRA, a Coverdell ESA for a child’s education, HSA for medical expenses, or a solo 401k plan. After researching your target investment, you direct the custodian/administrator who executes the transaction and holds the assets.

At Next Generation Trust Company, our professional team conducts a thorough administrative review to determine the feasibility of holding the asset. We also manage all the paperwork and tax filing associated with the accounts. Plus, our staff is well trained to answer your questions more efficiently.

If you’re thinking about what you want to be when you grow into retirement, we hope you’re also thinking about how you’ll fund those dreams. If you are financially savvy about certain alternative assets and want to include them in your retirement portfolio, you should also think about self-direction as a retirement wealth-building strategy. You can read more in our white paper library, contact us at Info@NextGenerationTrust.com or call us at 888-857-8058.