Just the thought of retirement can be both exciting and terrifying at the same time. It’s what you’ve worked towards for your entire life, but it comes with many unknowns. You’re sure to be wondering if you’ve saved enough, can afford your expenses moving forward, and whether you’re truly ready to move into the next stage of your life.
The reality is that when it comes to retirement, many are unprepared due to a combination of increasing debt, wage stagnation, and lack of timely preparation. Saving for retirement isn’t (or wasn’t) always top of mind or that important early on in your money-earning life.
Forbes provides some insight to Americans and retirement, stating that 45% of working Americans don’t have retirement accounts like a 401(k) or IRA at all, while the median retirement account balance across all households is only $2,500. This amount is far from what you will need to stay afloat during retirement. Clearly, for many, this amount wouldn’t support a month or two of retirement, let alone 20-30 years.
The best time to start your saving for retirement is likely yesterday. Many retirees will tell you they’d wished they started much sooner than they did – rather than waiting, some even waiting until they’re too close to retirement and fall short of what they need which prolongs retirement. It’s always a good idea to start early to create the habit of putting money back for your retirement. If you’re unsure of where to start or what to do, there are several resources both locally as well as online when it comes to retirement planning. You can also utilize CSE’s retirement calculator for a glimpse of what your retirement savings goals should look like.
“As a rule of thumb, many experts agree that you will need about 70 percent of what you make at the peak of your career to maintain that standard of living in retirement.” (VOYA)
VOYA gives us three reasons to start saving for retirement now:
- Relying on Social Security Benefits Alone May Not Be Enough
- Fewer Employers Are Offering Pensions and Contributing to Retirement Savings
- Longer Lifespans Mean People Are Outliving Their Savings
In our BANZAI! Education Center, we can take a closer look at the question ‘Am I Ready to Retire?’
How It Works - Every individual has a different goal for retirement. Our BANZAI! Retirement Coach guides you through setting a personal retirement goal and predicts your total retirement savings. It then helps you evaluate whether you're on track to meet your goal.
Start the Coach: https://csefcu.learnbanzai.com/wellness/resources/retirement-coach
Once you’re retired there are ways to generate income if you didn’t save as much as you’d like with a part-time job. You might ask, why would I want a job when I had just finally retired? Many retirees still need to work because what they put back isn’t enough and they need the additional income. Others do it just to stay busy. Look into something that you’re interested in that you wouldn’t mind doing as a retiree that way you earn the income but it doesn’t quite feel like work.
- (Forbes) https://www.forbes.com/feature/retirement-checkup/#6684f5b74b95
- (VOYA) https://blog.voya.com/retirement/3-reasons-start-saving-retirement-now-nc
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