Fewer than half of Americans have calculated how much they need
to save for retirement. Even though we are consistently prodded
with advertisements and resources urging us to estimate how much we
will need, Americans are still choosing to ignore the advice of
financial experts.
LIMRA
reported results from a survey they conducted this year inquiring
Americans about their contributions to a retirement plan. They
found that nearly half of those surveyed were not making
contributions. Another astounding statistic is the amount of
savings and investments that Americans reported in 2012. In the
Retirement Confidence Survey
conducted by the EBRI, they found that nearly a third of older
workers had less than $10,000 of savings and investments.
When you have less than $10,000 saved, planning for retirement
would seem like an impossible task. It's no wonder so many
Americans are foregoing making any plans. If you make the decision
to calculate your retirement savings needed and see a massive
shortfall between your savings and retirement savings needed, don't
be discouraged. There are still options if you find yourself in
this situation.
Make realistic goals
While it is important to consult a retirement calculator to
estimate your retirement expenses and expected healthcare costs, it
is more important to base your savings goals on your own budget.
Plan to save a realistic amount that fits within your budget.
Change your lifestyle
If you can't afford to fund your lifestyle in retirement, then
you probably can't afford it right now. Evaluate all of your
expenses and see where you can make cut backs and increase your
personal savings and retirement savings.
Work longer
Delaying retirement
is your first step to reaching your goals. This will allow you to
contribute more to your savings, decrease the amount of years you
need to fund your retirement, and increase your social security
benefits.
Click here
to read are special report, Evaluating the Best Time for You to
Begin Taking Social Security
Pay yourself first
Don't put your savings at the bottom of your priority list.
Concentrating on paying off your debt and ignoring your savings
will never fill the gap between your goals and current savings.
Make an effort to simultaneously pay your debt as well as write
yourself a paycheck every month to stash away.
It's not too late
Although waiting to save later in life is not the ideal
situation, it does not mean that you can't make a significant dent
on your retirement savings and improve your quality of life beyond
your years of working. Take advantage of catch-up savings in
tax-advantaged accounts.
Click here
to see the contribution limits for 2012.
While it may seem impossible to save and plan for retirement
when you have so little to start with, there is still hope for
creating goals and retiring confidently with a plan. If you delayed
saving, you may have to make some drastic changes, but make sure to
make goals you can realistically reach!
Click
here
to start using our My Financial Plan app to help you get started
making your goals.
The intent of this article is to help expand your financial
education. Although the information included may be relevant to
your particular situation, it is not meant to be personalized
advice. When it comes to investing, insurance and financial
planning, it is important to speak to a professional and get advice
that is tailored to your unique, individual situation. All
investments involve risk including possible loss of principal.
Investment objectives, risks and other information are contained in
the Snider Investment Method Owner's Manual; read and consider them
carefully before investing. More information can be found on our
website or by calling 1-888-6SNIDER. Past performance is not
indicative of future results.