4 Nontraditional Retirement Funding Strategies

​For most investors, the traditional path to retirement is very clear. You advance your career over time, and your income increases along the way. Throughout your career, you contribute to your 401(k), IRA and other retirement accounts. You try to keep your debt balances low, live within your means and accumulate enough assets to fund a long and enjoyable retirement.
 
Unfortunately, though, the traditional path doesn’t always lead to the desired destination. You could face unexpected costs for things like health care issues or home repairs. You could experience market volatility that threatens your savings efforts. You could experience a career disruption that limits your ability to save.

As you approach retirement, you may find that you need additional funding options besides your retirement plans and Social Security. If you’re already saving as much as possible and still need additional funds for retirement, it may be time to consider a nontraditional approach.

Below are four nontraditional ways to fund some of your retirement expenses. You could use these strategies to generate side income, boost your retirement savings or simply provide a little financial breathing room. Be creative and consider how you could implement strategies like these into your retirement plan.

Downsize to a smaller home.
Have your kids graduated high school or college and headed into the world as adults? If so, you may find yourself with a large family house that’s empty most of the time. While the house may hold sentimental value and cherished memories, it could also be the key to funding your retirement.
 
By selling your home and downsizing to a smaller house, you could substantially reduce your expenses. The costs for your mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance could all go down, which would reduce the amount of income you may need in retirement.
 
Also, if you have substantial equity in your home, you could use some of the proceeds from the sale to bolster your retirement savings. Those savings could help you continue to grow your assets or generate additional retirement income.

Use your life insurance cash value.
You probably own life insurance to protect your spouse, kids and other loved ones in the event of your death. Now that your kids are out of the house, however, you may not need as much insurance protection as you did in the past. If your insurance has cash value, you could use the policy to generate supplemental retirement income.
 
You can take your premiums out of the policy as tax-free withdrawals. You can also take any growth in the cash value as a tax-free loan distribution. Technically, the loan has to be repaid. If it isn’t repaid when you pass away, however, the balance is deducted from your death benefit.

Turn your hobby into income.
Do you plan to use retirement to pursue a favorite passion or hobby? If so, perhaps you could turn that hobby into a source of side income. For example, you might be able to work part time for a business related to your hobby. If you love golf, you could work as a starter or an attendant at a local course. If you love gardening, you could work at an area nursery.
 
If you want a job with schedule flexibility, you could consider coaching, teaching or consulting others who may be interested in your hobby or passion. For instance, if you love music or art, you could offer lessons to children and adults in your neighborhood. You could also sell training or coaching online in your area of expertise.

Participate in the sharing economy.
The internet has created a wide range of new ways to earn income. One of the ways in which many retirees can generate side income is through the renting or sharing of their assets. For instance, there are websites that let you rent out empty bedrooms in your home, for either the long term or a few days at a time. You could rent out tools and other types of property. You can even rent out your time by driving for a ride-hailing service or running errands for others. Look into ways to use these opportunities to generate income.
 
Ready to chart your nontraditional path to funding retirement? Let’s talk about it. Contact us at Baacke Insurance Services. We can help you identify both traditional and nontraditional funding strategies. Let’s connect soon and start the conversation.

 
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