Top Ways To Prepare For Retirement

1. Know Your Retirement Needs - Retirement is expensive. Financial experts estimate that you’ll need about 70 percent of your preretirement income – lower earners, 90 percent or more – to maintain your standard of living when you stop working. Take charge of your financial future.
2. Find Out About Your Social Security Benefits - Social Security pays the average retiree about 40 percent of preretirement earnings.
3. Learn About Your Employer's Pension Or Profit Sharing Plan - If your employer offers a plan, check to see what your benefit is worth. Most employers will provide an individual benefit statement if you ask for one. Before you change jobs, know what will happen to your pension. Learn what benefits you may have from previous employment. Find out if you will be entitled to benefits from your spouse’s plan.
4. Ask Your Employer To Start A Plan - If your employer doesn’t offer a retirement plan, suggest that it start one. Simplified plans can be set up by certain employers.
5. Put Your Money Into An Individual Retirement Account - You can put up to 20%-30%of your annual earnings into an Individual Retirement Account.
6. Don't Touch Your Savings - Don’t dip into your retirement savings. You’ll lose principal and interest.
7. Start Now, Set Goals, And Stick To Them - Start early. The sooner you start saving, the more time your money has to grow. Put time on your side. Make retirement savings a high priority. Devise a plan, stick to it, and set goals for yourself. Remember, it’s never too early or too late to start saving. So start now, whatever your age!
8. Consider Basic Investment Principles - How you save can be as important as how much you save. Inflation and the type of investments you make play important roles in how much you’ll have saved at retirement. Know how your pension or savings plan is invested. Financial security and knowledge go hand in hand.
9. Ask Questions - These tips point you in the right direction. But you’ll need more information. Talk to your employer, your bank, your union, or a financial advisor. Ask questions and make sure the answers make sense to you. Get practical advice and act now.
Financial security doesn’t just happen. It takes planning and commitment and, yes, money.