Thanks in part to media reporting, retirement savers objectives are often misplaced. Striving for a high return or outpacing a particular index does not make for a successful retirement savings strategy.
Education
“While it is preferable to start at a young age, you are never too old to start making good financial decisions. If you have made mistakes in the past, it is important that you recognize where you went wrong, and start taking the proper steps to fix any issues you may have created, so that you can move towards a healthier financial state.”
Comprehending the tax code is not an activity for the faint of heart and most retirement savers would faint if they saw the actual codebook. The problem with current tax code is that it may not be the same in the future. This realization can have profound impact on the retirement savings strategy one undertakes.
Quite the opposite from being “over the hill,” those in their forties may find they’re still slogging up hill in terms of saving for retirement.
It’s often difficult for those not immersed in the everyday concerns of retirement saving to know what to ask (let alone how to interpret the answers). It’s up to plan sponsors and the service providers they employ to guide plan participants along the proper route.
This is the decade in which retirement savers need to accelerate their savings efforts in order to take full advantage of the positive impact time has on the growth of that savings.
It’s not rocket science, but it’s not easy – either saving in the first place and then investing for the long-term, which means 20-year olds better be as comfortable riding the market as much as they are riding an amusement park roller coaster.
Remember, it’s not what you know that’s important, it’s knowing that you don’t know what’s important that’s important.
“Nothing is more in the best interest of the child. The judicious carrot of spending, when managed properly, actually instills a strong sense of and desire to save and, ironically, not spend.”
Only by focusing on these steps from the bottom up can the builder consistent construct homes of superior strength, durability, and functionality. How might one take the same approach with retirement?
