5 Retirement Planning Mistakes

Unfortunately for both planners and the people that need retirement planning, it is not an exact science. Retirement planning needs to fit the needs of the person that needs it. While there are no hard rules for what a person should do, there are several considerations that a person needs to make so that they are not do the following:

1. A person should not be overly optimistic when it comes to retirement planning. According to some, it is better to be pessimistic about the future because the optimism usually prevents people from saving money when they should be saving money. 
2. A person should not underestimate the amount that they are likely to spend in their retirement, especially with the rising costs of health care and the fact that seniors are living longer.
3. A person should not focus centrally on making money through investments, and should try to reduce the amount of debt that he or she owns before retirement.
4. A person should not try to focus as much on the financial needs of others, and really focus upon what they need to sustain themselves financially.
5. Finally, a person should not wait until they are older to start getting themselves physicals and ensuring that they are healthy.

See Jacoba Urist, 5-Retirement-Planning Mistakes To Avoid, NBCNews-Business, Dec. 6, 2012.