About Retirement Planning: Playing Catch Up

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Retirement Planning Retirement Planning Quick Start How to Save Retiring From Melissa Phipps, your Guide to Retirement Planning If I could teach young people just one thing, it would be the power of compound interest. Simply put: the earlier you start saving and investing, the better off you will be. I didn't fully grasp this idea until I was a few years into my career. I got a late start on my retirement plan. But I do what I can to make up for it. Play Catch Up When I hit age 50, I'm going to max out my catch-up contributions. Even if you have saved diligently throughout your lifetime, you have the opportunity to sock away more tax-deferred money in an IRA or 401(k) as you near retirement age... Read more Take the Match I take advantage of every 401(k) matching dollar offered by my employer. So what if it's going into my savings account rather than checking? It's free money, and it's money that has the best opportunity to grow... Read more Add Up the Numbers I also keep score. A good place to start is figuring out your net worth. It's more than just a stat, like a money SAT score. Your net worth helps give you a sense of your overall financial picture... Read more Stay the Course Most importantly, I'm in it for the long haul. I have no plans to withdraw my IRA or 401(k) funds before retirement. Although the idea is tempting, I don't want to lose any of my savings to penalty fees. Plus, remember what I said before about the power of compounding? Find out about IRA withdrawal rules... Read more See More About:  ira withdrawals  iras  retirement account distributions Retirement Planning Ads Planning Retirement Ira Retirement Plan Ira Retirement Plans 401K Retirement Plan Tax Free Retirement Featured Articles Social Security and Retirement Planning Taxes and Retirement Planning Retirement Planning by the Decade Self-Employed Retirement Plans Already In Retirement Glossary of Retirement Planning Terms   More from About.com Bake Sale Bestsellers Make your next bake sale a profitable one with these irresistible recipes. More> Real Recipes app Download our highly-rated app for free recipes and kitchen tools, for iPhone and iPod Touch. More> This newsletter is written by: Melissa Phipps Retirement Planning Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum   Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About.com Retirement Planning newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here. About.com respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2012 About.com   Must Reads Make Sense of Retirement Accounts Roth IRA Contribution Limits 2012 What To Do With Those Old 401(k)s IRA Contribution Limits 2012 Before You Take a 401(k) Loan Advertisement