Are You Saving For Retirement?

This past week was National Save for Retirement Week. This is something that didn’t get a whole lot of play. However, it is still an important topic. According to the 2009 Retirement Confidence Survey presented by the Employee Benefits Research Institute, 53% of all workers have less than $25,000 in savings and investments, excluding home ownership and defined benefits plans.

This lack of savings is a real issue for the future. It should be noted that Social Security was never meant to replace income — merely supplement it. And it may not even be available to do that for younger workers. On top of that, employers are doing less and less for employees in terms of pensions and matching retirement plan contributions. This means that you are responsible for your own retirement. The earlier you start saving for retirement, the better. There will be more time for compound interest to work in your favor, and you will have a better chance of saving up.

If you are approaching retirement, it is a good idea to take stock of your situation. There are things you can do to stretch your retirement funds, even in a recession, including down-sizing and finding alternative sources of income.

Image source: TW Collins via Flickr