Retirement is one of the stages almost all of us will go through. Most of us will not be fully prepared when the times comes, and may even have to postpone retiring until funds are better. Many will have to work up until they reach the age of 70+ just because they didn’t save enough money while they were young. If you think that Social Security is going to do justice when you retire, you can forget that. Sure, there is a little pension, but it won’t bring you all the joys you wish to have. Read the following top 10 ways to prepare while still young, for retirement:

1. Goals – Set goals of what you want to do after you retire. Maybe you will want to travel with or without your husband. Maybe you want to live with your daughter and help watch your grandkids. Or maybe you just want to purchase a small cottage in the woods somewhere in Oregon to hide out from everyone. Whatever you choose, you will have to work and save now to accommodate those goals you set for yourself.
2. Know your expenses now and plan for later – What are your expenses now? With inflation, can you imagine what your expenses might be like by the time you retire? Because we are all at different stages in our lives, you will have to come up with the amount that will best fit your needs. If you are deep in debt, I would suggest that you get out real quick. It is smart to plan for the future; after all, it is approaching fast. It has been said that you will need 90% or more of your income now to meet your standard living costs after you retire. Think about the goals you have and the budget you plan to live on. You will want to intertwine the two and make ends meet.
3. Educate yourself on social security – learn about social security benefits and all it entails. This will come in handy when mapping your retirement budget.
4. Employers pension/profit sharing– if your employer offers a plan, get all details. Be sure to find out all details about where the pension goes when you change jobs. Look at your spouse’s plan as well to see what his or her company offers.
5. Consider all investment principals/strategies – Save all that you can! Put it somewhere safe where it can accumulate interest! Stocks, CD’s, mutual funds are all great places to put your money to accumulate interest.
6. IRA – start putting money into an IRA. This will be very beneficial to you. If your company offers one don’t wait another minute to be apart of it. Your company should match whatever you put in. You can get on an individualized plan as well. Look at all the options.
7. Don’t touch your savings – It’s important to stick to your goals once you have set them. Do not touch any money you put into savings, hence the word “savings”.
8. Contribute to any tax-sheltered plans – If your company offers a 401K plan, or something similar, by all means, contribute to it. This will help a great deal in saving money for your retirement. Not only that, but your taxes will be lower along with many other great benefits. If you haven’t already, check with your current employer about this.
9. Ask your employer to start a plan – If your current employer doesn’t already have a plan, suggest that he/she start one. This will not only benefit the employees, but the company as well—it can be counted as a deduction in taxes.
10. Ask Questions – as any questions you may have. This is your future, you have the right!

The younger you implement these top 10 steps, the better off your will be. Retirement should be a celebration for all the hard years of work you have accomplished. Enjoy that time by allowing yourself to do the things you have always wanted to do.

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