Planning for Retirement

Part of yielding wealth is having a financial plan. Creating a financial plan should also include retirement planning. In fact, this is one of the most important parts.

The three-legged stool

Retirement funding is often referred to as the three-legged stool. The three legs are as follows:

• The government, which helps out through Social Security
• Company pension plans, which are becoming scarce
• Your own personal financial health and savings

As you can see, two of the three legs listed above are becoming rapidly shorter. Although company pension plans are being widely replaced by such things as IRAs and 401(k)s. This just means that the stool is morphing into something else entirely. Something that will require you to do more to secure your own future.

Start NOW to build your retirement funds

The fact of the matter is that you need to start immediately with planning for retirement. Try to put the maximum in your retirement account each year (this might be hard to manage if you have a 401(k) that has a higher limit). And, make sure you are doing other things. Build up your assets, whether it’s working toward paying off your home or getting out of debt, or giving your savings a boost through an online savings account or a money market account.

The idea is to chart a course and stick with it, creating a better future for yourself.