Retirement Tips

Retirement Strategies

No matter what your age, it is never too late to plan for your retirement. Of course, if you start when you are 30 instead of 50 you’ll have a lot more money to enjoy your retirement. Here are some strategies you can begin to implement now:

• If you are not currently participating in your company’s 401(k) plan, start now.
• Set aside a minimum of $100 a month for retirement savings.
• Investigate safe and viable investment options.
• Look into IRAs that are appropriate for your situation.
• Contemplate part-time work options for your retirement based on things you like to do. If you enjoy golfing consider working at a golf course.
• If you are in your mid 50’s or older, and anticipate a shortfall, start cutting back on your current expenses and put the savings toward your retirement.
• If you are a late starter don’t be tricked into higher risk investments. The older you are, the less time you’ll have to recover any investment losses.
• Make sure you factor inflation in when computing what you will need to live comfortable during retirement. Inflation has averaged between 3 and 4 percent over the last 15 years.

If you think small and do it consistently it’s easier to save. The table below shows what saving just $100 per month (less than $3.25 a day) can mean towards your retirement.

Number of Years

Rate of Return	5	10	15	20	25	30
5%	6,801	15,528	26,729	41,103	59,551	83,226
6%	6,977	16,388	29,082	46,204	69,299	100,452
7%	7,159	17,308	31,696	52,093	81,007	121,997
8%	7,348	18,295	34,604	58,902	95,103	149,036
9%	7,542	19,351	37,841	66,789	112,112	183,074
10%	7,744	20,484	41,447	75,937	132,683	226,049