How to plan for retirement

Jim Stafford, Staff Writer

Published: April 27, 2008

For the past 15 years, Ben and Shirley Johnson of Edmond have enjoyed life as retirees from Phillips Petroleum, where Ben worked for more than three decades in information services.

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They volunteer once a week at Mercy Hospital and spend as much time as possible with their two grandchildren.

The good life retirement brought to the couple has its roots in financial planning that Ben Johnson, 79, began when he first went to work for Phillips.

“We had what was called a thrift plan where you contributed and the company contributed,” Johnson said. “You need to start (saving) early and probably need to start before you feel you are making enough money to save. I think that’s one of the most important things.

“We’ve certainly benefited from that, starting early.”

Ben and Shirley Johnson’s advanced retirement planning certainly stands out against the unsound practices of most Americans, said Randy L. Thurman, a financial planner and president of Oklahoma City-based Retirement Investment Advisors.

“We’re retiring early, we’re saving less and we’re living longer,” Thurman said. “That’s a recipe for disaster.”

So, what’s the answer to avoid impending financial doom for millions of Americans approaching retirement age?

Stop procrastinating, Thurman said. Start saving today. Take advantage of corporate retirement programs such as 401(k) plans in which the companies match up to a certain percentage of what the employee contributes. That’s free money.

“The biggest roadblock to avoid is procrastination,” Thurman said. “It seems like when you are 25 years old you are young, ‘I have plenty of time. I’ll start later when I’m making more.’”

Then 25 becomes 35 and a life that now probably includes children, so retirement savings are put off until 45. By then the kids are in college and life has become even more expensive.

“Then, at 55, it’s like ‘I should have started earlier,” Thurman said. “I think procrastination is the No. 1 reason why people fail on the retirement plan.”

The company 401(k) is absolutely the best avenue to prepare for retirement, he said.

And create a budget and live by it. “Budget” is a word that many Americans don’t want to hear, Thurman said.

“Do the ‘B’ word,” Thurman said. “I call them spending plans.”

“Living within your means,” Johnson called it.

““Really limit your debt, and that takes some doing,” he said. “I think it means living within your means and that’s pretty tough sometimes.

“It’s a simple as that, I think.”

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