Rising Business Solutions

As a Real Estate Agent, How Should I Prepare for Retirement?

The Temptation for Real Estate Agents is to Hold Off on Saving for Retirement.

The assumption is that next year will be better than this one. Saving for retirement too frequently ends up being postponed.

Start Saving Today

You should be trying to save at a minimum of 10% of your annual income. If you can, you should strive to set 20% aside for retirement.

Create Leverage for Yourself

You can save on taxes and other expenses by establishing yourself as a business. Typical business structures for real estate agents include LLC, S-Corp, and Sole-Proprietorship. As a business owner, you should establish a budget and a savings plan for your business. The benefits of establishing a business, budget, and savings plan include:

Creates more options for retirement savings and tax deductions,

Developing a budget and following it helps you to become financially secure,

Establishing an LLC or S-Corp enables you to separate and protect your personal finances,

Creating a separation between your work and personal life helps you to disentangle when you retire.

What Investment Vehicle and Options Should I Choose?

The challenge is knowing what investment vehicle you should use to invest your money – so you get the best return on investment.

Life Insurance: Universal insurance or whole life using Infinite Banking system, might be part of a robust retirement plan. They offer investment options that help you save for retirement – without having to pay any taxes in the future. You can leverage your policy as collateral while it grows tax-free – and make money when you borrow against it to invest elsewhere (e.g., real estate). (Borrowing rates against your policy are at lower rates than what you make from your policy returns.)

Traditional IRA: You can make pre-tax contributions of up to $5,500 per year. In other words, the taxes are deferred. If you’re over the age of 50, you can make catch-up contributions as well.

Roth IRA: Roth IRA’s allow you to deposit savings post-tax. In other words, you pay taxes now, so you don’t have to pass taxes on the money later. You can contribute up to $5,500 per year to a Roth IRA.

Self-Directed IRA: Self-directed IRAs allow you to have more control over your investment options. Real estate is a popular investment option for agents – because they understand the market. You can set up a self-directed IRA as a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA.

Solo 401K: A solo 401k retirement plan enables you to contribute up to $61,000 per year. If you experience financial difficulties, you can take a loan against 50% of your retirement savings.

Simple IRA: A SIMPLE IRA allows you to offer you and your employees a retirement plan.