Time has the tendency of catching up with you. You might have spent your younger years under the illusion that age was something you would avoid, but sooner or later that illusion eventually is broken. The “age is just a number” philosophy tends to disappear as soon as you realize what the reality holds.

55 means retirement, and with retirement comes several critical decisions. The end goal is simple, to prevent any financially negative situations as it can seriously jeopardize lifestyles and medical care. Here’s what people at the age of 55 are most likely to be pondering.

Time or Money?

For hardworking professionals time and money are often the same thing, but the line becomes clear once you reach the age of 55. The first thing to decide is whether you want to keep working, or want to hang up your boots for doing the things you always wanted to do, but couldn’t due to work commitments. Prioritization comes into play, as you try and gauge the kind of money you would need to keep your lifestyle intact. The ideal way to go about it is targeting a fixed amount as annual/monthly savings.

Healthcare

If you think Medicare will take care of all your healthcare expenses, you could not be more wrong. Once you are 65, Medicare only cover 50% of your medical expenses, while the rest depends on your personal income. Estimated healthcare costs per person are around $10,000 per year. While people with retirement incomes below $75,000 typically spend less than $10,000 annually, people with retirement incomes around $150,000 generally spend above the $10,000 figure.

Depending on Medicare and Medicaid isn’t really ideal for 55+ individuals. A long-term care insurance is recommended. However, it’s best to check whether said insurance is in accordance with your budget. You would be required to pay premiums for quite a few years, so definitely keep that in mind before opting for one.

Real Estate Investment

Real estate can play a major role in determining your finances once you are 55. Investing in new properties, especially if they are more lavish than your current home, is not really recommended if you have financial restrictions. However, there are several other ways of reaping rewards from real estate investment.

If you are currently living in Dallas where property tax rates are really high, and you have a huge property that requires a lot of maintenance costs as well, you could easily relocate to a state with lower property taxes. You could also buy a property that is significantly smaller in size too. This makes a lot of sense as your maintenance costs would significantly go down as well. Realtors in Dallas or Frisco, TX may help you to cut off the investment costs.

Any investment you made prior to the age of 55 would also come in handy. A lot of people buy properties during their working years for the sole purpose of re-sale when the market is just right. It’s a great way to cash in on that property once they are close to retirement.

Social Security Benefits

Certain financial features of Social Security are absolutely brilliant from a financial standpoint, but only if they are exercised at the right times. You cannot claim the benefits any time before 62, as that is the earliest age for claims. However, many seniors over 55 choose to wait for claiming the benefits later. Spousal and survivor benefits are of immense value, with survivor benefits especially getting a lot of attention. The monthly benefit for married couples continues even after one passes. By delaying the claims, survivor benefits can amount to a lot in time.

A ton of computer software and tools have been developed for calculating social security benefits, and these tools can show you and your spouse what kind of benefits you would enjoy and what the best time would be for claiming them.

Among all the aforementioned things to consider after the age of 55, real estate investment is the biggest contributing factor to securing healthy finances for an improved livelihood in an individual’s twilight years.