Today, a majority of your retirement income will likely depend on your own resources. More retirees than ever before receive benefits from Social Security and employer-sponsored retirement plans, but the role of these two sources of income is expected to decline in the future. Some economic experts predict that the Social Security system will be bankrupt by the year 2010 and employers are cutting back on retirement benefits or are no longer offering pension plans.

But, with some advance planning you can make your retirement more comfortable and a first step toward this objective is to begin planning in earnest - today.

The professional life insurance representatives of Security Mutual Life can assist in the planning process. Together, you will determine how much income is needed to maintain your current lifestyle in retirement, typically between 67% and 90% of your pre-retirement income, and review and analyze the four primary sources of retirement income: Social Security, employer-sponsored pension plans, Individual Retirement Accounts and personal investments. If a gap exists between what is needed and what is available, then a plan can be formulated to help put your financial house in order.

Retirement planning is the only way to estimate the amount of money you will require in retirement in order to maintain your desired lifestyle. Starting early to plan for your retirement will make a big difference later on.