Retirement is one of those things that sneaks up on you. One
second, you’re 25 years old, young and free. The next thing you know, you’re
past 50 and still have a lot of planning (and living!) left to do. If you’ve
found yourself in this situation, don’t worry. There are still things you can
do, later on in the game of life, to help you get ready for retirement.
Start Saving (Seriously!)
Most of us make valiant attempts
to save throughout our lives...attempts that often get bogged down by the cares
and concerns of real life. Once you hit 55 or so, however, there’s no more time
for procrastinating.
If your savings are looking a
little slim in your later working years, increase your contributions all
around. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to increase contributions to some, or even
all, of the following:
l 401(k)
l 403(b)
l IRA
l Keogh
l SEP-IRA
The more you can increase your
contributions without harming your current financial status, the better,
especially if you’re making up for lost time.
Seek Professional Help
Chances are, if you’re worried
about your financial status at age 55, you’re probably not the most money-savvy
person in the world. Don’t beat yourself up over that fact, however. Instead,
take action.
If you’re still struggling with
financial matters later in life, there is no better reason to hire an expert.
Professional financial advisors can take a look at where you are and where you
want to be and find a way to reconcile the two.
Be Realistic
There is a major tendency among people to over or underestimate
the amount of money they will actually need to live comfortably once they
retire. Whether your plans are too big (sailing around Europe) or too small
(living off of senior-citizen priced fare), there is no better time than the
present to get them in check.
Sit down and think about what you plan to do in the future, where you plan to live, and what assets you will have working for you. Then, make realistic plans and budgets based on those factors. If you find that you really can’t live on what you’re currently socking away, the nice thing is that you still have time to change it.
In fact, nothing is set in stone until the day you die, so
even if you’re past (or well past) the 55 age mark, it’s never too late to
start planning for retirement and just life in general sensibly.
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