Brett Standen

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT BRETT STANDEN

At ScotiaMcleod Retirement Planning and Tax Planning is the core of our business:How much do you need?Getting to the answer of this fundamental question is not as easy or straightforward as you might think. Constant planning and review are necessary to make sure that you\'ve done the best job possible to answer the question for yourself. When do you want to retire? The earlier you want to retire, the more money you\'ll need. For example: Let\'s say you want to retire at age 60, you started working at age 20 and you live to be 90 years of age. This means that you would have 40 years of working to save enough money to provide you with income for 30 years of retirement.What kind of retirement lifestyle do you want?Just as important as the length of time that you\'ll be retired is the lifestyle you want, and the expenses associated with it. Be careful not to underestimate them.What will be the impact of investment returns, taxes and inflation?These variables will have a major effect on how much money you need to save. The higher your investment returns, the less money you need to save. However, most people become more conservative in their investment decisions when they retire because they rely on their investment returns to generate income. This usually means that returns are lower than they were previously and, over the long term, means that they need more money. Inflation must also be taken into account, you may fall short of achieving your lifestyle objectives. Taxes will also have a significant impact on where you ultimately end up.What is your marital status?A single person who makes per year will end up with less money, after tax, than a married couple with each person making per year. You might argue that a married couple will have more expenses because there are two people instead of one, but marital status can affect other sources of income as well.