You only retire once. We’ll help you do it right. Tap into the financial minds at DFCU Financial Partners available through CUSO Financial Services, L.P. (CFS), our broker-dealer. Our knowledgeable, experienced Financial Consultants are also Chartered Retirement Planning Counselors. We’re well-equipped to help you better understand retirement’s financial challenges, guide you through the investment process, explore the possibilities and design a plan so you can potentially enjoy your retirement to the fullest.

Understanding the challenges.
Retirement is expensive. The unavoidable costs of housing, food and medical care can add up quickly. Then there are the expenses that make retirement worth the wait, such as entertainment, travel and hobbies.

Events could happen during your retirement that impact you for 20,30 and even 40 years. What special medical needs might you require? What personal desires might you uncover that cost more than you planned? What if family, friends or organizations that you care about need more financial support from you than you had foreseen?

Counting on Social Security.
The more comfortable lifestyle you expect to live during retirement, the less you may have to depend on Social Security to help. In fact, today’s average retirees receive only a small percentage of their income from Social Security.

Start early and often.
It’s never too early to start saving and investing for retirement. The sooner you start, the more money you should have when you retire. On the other hand, if you wait too long, you may have to postpone retirement until enough has been saved. One of the keys is investing regularly. Every month or quarter, put some money into a retirement account. Over time, you may be surprised at how big a nest egg you have accumulated.

Be ahead of your time.
Investing in long-term growth may help your retirement in two ways. First, it can be one of the fastest ways to grow your nest egg. Remember that it may also involve a higher degree of risk. Second, it is one of the most effective ways to prevent inflation from chipping away at your retirement income. Growth investing can be one way to keep your retirement income growing faster than the rate of inflation.

Selecting a qualified retirement plan that fits.
We’ll show you how to be tax smart through qualified retirement plans. These plans put the power of tax deferral to work for you. Some plans even allow you to make tax-deductible contributions. Popular qualified retirement plans include 401(k), 403(b), and IRA plans.

There are many different kinds of IRAs to select from, such as Contributory IRAs, Spousal IRAs, Roth IRAs and Rollover IRAs. Your Financial Consultant can help you determine which kind of IRA may be best for you. 401(k) retirement plans are generally only offered to employees of a company while 403(b) retirement plans are offered to the employees of tax-exempt organizations such as schools or hospitals.

Go steady with dollar cost averaging.
Dollar cost averaging can make a difference. We’ll get you started. Just invest a fixed amount of money every month or quarter into a specific investment product. This disciplined approach to investing can help you turn your steady contributions into the nest egg you need when it’s time to retire.*

*A periodic plan does not assure a profit and does not protect against loss in declining markets. Such action involves continuous investment, so investors should consider financial ability to continue purchases in a period of low price levels.

Two ways to diversify.
We can help you diversify your nest egg two different ways. First, you can spread your money across a wide range of individual investments.

The second way to diversify is to spread your money across several asset types. This is also known as asset allocation. When you allocate your assets across a variety of different classes, such as stocks, bonds and cash, you can potentially increase your returns while reducing your risk.

Questions to ask your Financial Consultant.
Here are a few questions you should consider when thinking about your retirement. Be sure to discuss the ones of most important to you with your Financial Consultant.

• What is a reasonable rate of return to expect on my retirement nest egg?
• What if I want to leave some money for those I care about?
• How do I make sure my income keeps pace with inflation?
• How can I make sure I don’t retire too early or too late?
• How do I make sure I won’t outlast my nest egg?
• How much income can I expect from Social Security?
• How can I ensure that I have sufficient retirement income beyond Social Security?
• How can I prevent inflation from reducing my purchasing power during retirement?
• What level of inflation should I plan for?
• What investments offer the best ways to beat inflation?