When it comes to retirement savings, the unfortunate truth
is that about half of Americans are totally unprepared for retirement, meaning
that they have absolutely no retirement accounts to speak of. A large chunk of
these people don’t even have pensions working for them, which is scary. If you
are one of those Americans who isn’t saving for retirement or who isn’t saving
enough, it’s time to get on your game! Otherwise, you’ll find that retirement,
for you, isn’t a happy, relaxing time as it should be, but instead, a
frightening, stressful one.
Don’t
Rely on Social Security
Americans give all kinds of reasons and excuses for not
saving for retirement as they should. Many say that they’re not all that
worried about it since they have equity built up in their homes. However, you
should never bank on your home’s equity to carry you through retirement; things
can and do go wrong with that strategy.
Other Americans expect that they’ll be able to live off of
their social security income, but honestly, for most Americans, social security
will not provide enough money to live on. It was never intended to anyway, so
if you’re banking on social security to get you through your golden years,
think again. These days, it takes a sizable chunk of retirement savings to retire
comfortably.
Working Longer Isn’t Always an Option
While those who make higher incomes tend to save more toward
retirement, which makes sense, those with lower incomes often don’t save at all
or save very little. In many cases, they don’t concern themselves too much with
this fact; instead, they just think that they’ll work a little longer to save
as the time gets closer.
In truth, though, lower income individuals are less likely
to be able to work longer than their higher-income peers. Those on the lower
end of the pay scale more frequently have physically demanding jobs that result
in career-ending injuries or just general wear and tear. They are also less
likely to have employers willing to keep them around in their advanced age.
Therefore, it’s really not smart to count on working longer to retire
comfortably; it’s just plain not going to work for most people.
Saving is the Only Solution
As you can see, people try to find all kinds of
“workarounds” to saving for retirement, but there really aren’t any. The only
way to make sure you retire comfortably is to save. Save as much as you can
starting as early as you can. Find savings plans that work for you and your
current budget, and do whatever you can to sock money away for your later
years. It may be hard, but it’s the only guarantee of a comfortable retirement.
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