5 Easy Steps to a Better Retirement

If you feel that you are a bit behind in savings in your retirement journey, I’m laying out some easy options for you that improve your chances of a secure retirement income. Try to choose those that make sense for you, even if it’s just one.  The more you do, the better.

1)      Increase your savings. Ok, I realize that this is a no-brainer and it’s probably something you are already thinking about. Even just 1% more can make a big difference.  Let’s assume you’re currently saving 5%, then 1% more means you’re really increasing your savings by 20%. That seems much more impressive! If you’re not contributing at least 10% to your retirement, try to shoot for this. The amount that you put away is the biggest lever you can pull when it comes to your retirement. If you’re not saving enough, you’re really making success tough. And, it’s totally in your control.

2)      Get rid of your “bad” debt. As soon as you pay off your credit cards or other consumer debt, you’ll be able to deploy those dollars to building a bigger investment portfolio. If your saving is behind and you’re near retirement, try paying off ALL of your debt. That way, your income needs will be much lower in retirement.

3)      Utilize Roth accounts more. Millennials and Gen-Zers are already on-board with Roth accounts, and it makes sense because they’re young and have many years for their accounts to grow. Roth accounts still make sense for older workers too. You can establish Roth funds in your IRAs or even at most employer sponsored retirement plans like a 401(k). If you make too much money to fund a Roth IRA, you can still fund a non-deductible traditional IRA and then “back-door” your way to a Roth by converting it.  Funding a Roth account is not an “all or nothing” decision, and it almost always makes sense to have access to Roth dollars in retirement.

4)      Cut out any unnecessary expenses you are paying to invest. If you are in an “expensive” 401(k), just invest up to the matching contribution from your employer. If your mutual funds have high expense ratios, find less expensive ones or ETFs. If you are paying an advisor an asset management fee to manage your money, you better make darn sure it is worth it. In this day and age of lower fees, you should be able to manage your portfolio for 25 basis points or less (that’s one quarter of one percent).

5)      Start saving more outside of your retirement plans.  Set up a brokerage account or start investing in mutual funds on a regular basis.  You’ll be amazed at how quickly it will grow even at a modest investment of $100 a month. This will give you more flexibility in the early years of retirement as well as having a kitty for unexpected expenses or other opportunities.

Doing just one of these will be good for your retirement. A little bit can go a long way. Feel free to contact me at rob@retirementnavigation.com if you’d like to build a customized retirement plan or if you have any questions in general.

Enjoy the journey!

Note: These are simple suggestions that make sense for most people. Of course, everyone’s situation is unique and you need to determine if these suggestions make sense for you.