A Suggested Time Table - 10-15 Years Before Retirement
This is the time to begin investigating and learning more about your current
benefit plan selections and what options are available when you retire.
Step One: Begin to investigate and review retirement income from all sources.
If you are entitled to retirement income from employers or sources other than
Duke, you should check those plans at this time. If you are paid on the biweekly
payroll and are a member of the Employees' Retirement Plan (ERP)
request an
estimate of your retirement benefits from the Human Resource Information Center
(HRIC) at 919-684-5600. If you are paid on the monthly payroll request an
estimate of your retirement benefits from your
investment carrier(s). Step Two: Establish or update a will.
If you make a will, your property will go to the person(s) named and in the
amounts you specify. If you fail to make a will, the law arbitrarily distributes
your property according to prevailing regulations. Without a will, the matter of
who will administer the estate can be the occasion for painful disputes and
needless expense. If you do not have a will already established you are strongly
advised to make one at this time.
Step Three: Designate a power of attorney or set up a trust.
There may be an occasion when you cannot act on your own behalf in certain
legal matters. You may grant someone you trust to act as "Power of Attorney" on
your behalf. You sign a notarized document specifying the details of what
matters you should be represented in and for what period of time the document is
effective. A trust is a plan where a trustee holds money that you have
transferred and manages it according to a written trust agreement. A trust can
be living or testamentary; revocable or irrevocable. Your attorney or trust
officer at your bank can give you cost estimates.
Step Four: Review and if necessary update your beneficiaries.
You should contact the 403(b) investment carrier(s) you are investing with
directly to see who is listed as your beneficiary. The beneficiaries that you
designated when you first started with Duke may need to be updated. You should
contact Human Resource Information Center at 919-684-5600 to review
beneficiaries for the Basic Life Insurance plan or Personal Accident Insurance
plan. For the other life insurance policies contact the
appropriate life insurance carrier.
Step Five: Attend a Retirement Planning Workshop.
Duke Benefits sponsors a Retirement Planning Workshop twice a year. Employees
and faculty age 50 and older are encouraged to attend. Other seminars may be
offered periodically concerning estate planning, taxes, wills and trusts or
other retirement needs.
Step Six: Contact or make an appointment with a
representative of your 403(b) investment carrier(s).
Discuss your investment portfolio including the accounts you have, funds
you selected, accumulated balances, projected totals at retirement and
designated beneficiaries. Evaluate if you are contributing the maximum to your
retirement plan and the advantages and disadvantages of changing the
allocation of funds prior to retirement and after retirement. Discuss the
options you have to withdraw accumulated retirement plan assets. Identify what
forms need completion and how they are obtained.
Your investment carrier representative can provide specific information
illustrating your projected retirement income and distribution options. This
is a time to determine how much of your current income you will need for your
living expenses in retirement and whether you need to accelerate your savings
for retirement.
You can find the addresses of local offices, telephone numbers, and web site
information for all of the 403(b) investment carriers on the
Retirement Plans Web Site.
Step Seven: Start to re-evaluate your tax plan.
You may want to consult a financial planner, estate planner, tax attorney or
a certified public accountant to assist you in planning for your retirement.
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