To make sure you have a financially successful retirement in Israel, follow these easy tricks.
- Have an emergency fund. No matter how much planning you do, something will likely come up: a health care emergency, a child in need, a house repair, etc. Many folks must scramble with each surprise. But if you have three to six months’ worth of expenses in a bank account, you will have liquidity to cover the costs.
- Don’t rely on your intuition to get rich. Sometimes people believe they’ve got a knack for picking stocks. Even if you’ve picked winning stocks before, your retirement is not a time to make mistakes. If you like picking individual stocks, use only a small percentage of your portfolio for that. Put the bulk of your account in diversified programs like managed money, exchange traded funds, or mutual funds. Work with a licensed financial professional to optimize the asset allocation that takes into account both your needs and your tolerance for risk.
- Increase the yield on your investment by checking out more profitable possibilities. Sometimes you can lower the risk and increase the cash flow from your investments by selling underperforming assets and buying something as a safe as a “brokered” bank deposit known as a “CD” – Certificate of Deposit (which are FDIC-insured), or possibly bonds or bond funds (which are not insured and can lose money).
- Double check with a pro. Since everyone has a different money situation, don’t follow what your friend is doing. Instead, speak to a licensed professional for advice. You can and, in most cases, should still make all the big decisions, but by presenting your assets, income, and expenses to someone who looks at numbers and investments every day, you will likely find ways to improve your situation dramatically.
To learn more about how to have a financially successful retirement, download a free copy of The Retirement Planning Book at Profile-Financial.com/rpb. No matter what stage of retirement planning you’re in – or if you’re already retired – there’s a tip to help your retirement be more comfortable.
Douglas Goldstein, CFP®, is the Director of Profile Investment Service, Ltd., which specializes in helping people who live in Israel with their US dollar assets and American investment and retirement accounts. He helps olim meet their financial goals through asset allocation, financial planning, and using money managers.
Published February 21, 2019. Updated July 2021