Planning for retirement days is a challenging task. If you are planning to retire early, say by 55, then you need to have healthy post retirement income and a substantial savings to support at least 30 years. Medicare starts from the age of 65 so you may also need to buy health insurance to get covered till that period if you retire early.

You can withdraw from your retirement accounts without paying a penalty after you are 59 years and 6 months of age. You are eligible to receive Social Security benefits after attaining 62. While deciding about your target retirement date you need to keep these things in mind.

After you have decided about the age of retirement next vital step is to calculate the amount of money you need to accumulate by that time. Take into consideration the cost of inflation while estimating fund for retirement.

Your lifestyle, probable medical expenses and cost of traveling are some essential components that need to be considered. Financial experts recommend that you should keep on investing a substantial portion of your retirement income to cover the cost of inflation. Make provision for such investments in your retirement planning.

Most person start collecting their retirement benefits just after completing 62 years. Financial experts have shown that waiting till 66 years may raise your monthly payment by one-third. If there are alternative provisions to support then you may wait till 66 years to reap more benefit. It is recommended to include employer sponsored retirement plans along with annuities in your plan while planning to invest for retirement.

Make sure not to dig in your retirement savings for petty reasons. This may result in loss of principle, interest and tax benefits. In case of a job change roll your 401(k) into an IRA. Diversification is the key to successful financial planning.

Do not keep all your eggs in a basket. While investing in bonds, debt instruments and safe interest bearing accounts, invest in some good stocks. If stocks are not your choice then consider investing in an index fund.

Earlier you start saving for your retirement, lesser you need to invest per annum for retirement. Monitoring progress and status of your investment and periodic modifications is necessary for successful accomplishment of a retirement plan.