Worried You Don't Have Enough Saved for Retirement? You're Not Alone
According to one recent study, the average retirement age in the United States was 62 years old as of 2017. Currently, the minimum age necessary to collect Social Security is 62, while 66 is largely considered to be "full retirement age" in many industries. The vast majority of people who will retire this year will do so between those two birthdays.
Which, of course, is where the problems begin.
A lot of people don't realize just how "expensive" retirement can be until they're already there. Not only do you need to think about the funds necessary to maintain your lifestyle, but you also have considerations like healthcare costs, too. So when you learn that another recent survey revealed that 42% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, you begin to get a better understanding of just how dire the situation can seem.
Every person’s savings requirements differ depending on their lifestyle, but here are just some of the areas you’ll want to consider saving for:
领英推荐
Thankfully, if you're one of the many people currently dealing with some type of retirement anxiety, all hope is not lost. Regardless of your age or how soon your retirement actually is, you can still mitigate a lot of the common risks that people grapple with by coming up with a plan designed to break the process down into a series of more manageable steps. Doing so simply requires you to keep a few key things in mind.
Planning in Your 20s and 30s
Whether you're a recent college graduate or you've been in the workforce for a few years, it can be common at this age to feel like you just don't make enough money to start saving for retirement. Indeed, about 40% of people chose this response in another retirement-related survey. If you're struggling to pay today's bills, how are you supposed to plan for tomorrow's retirement?
Thankfully, this is another one of those situations where small actions today can turn into big results down the road — particularly when it comes to investment opportunities like 401(k) plans and other retirement accounts. If your employer offers a match for your contributions, for example, it is absolutely in your own best interest to contribute at least that much every single year. Not only do you get the benefit of tax-deferred growth, but you're also looking at a very large period of growth because your retirement date is still far off.