|
Save "On" A Rainy Day
By
Delia De Mello |
 You’ve
heard the saying before: save for a rainy day. We’d like to
suggest you save on a rainy day. Just as April’s showers
bring May’s flowers, your savings today can help make your
retirement savings flourish in the future.
According to a recent survey by the Employee Benefit
Research Institute, 43 percent of Americans have saved less
than $10,000 for retirement; 27 percent have saved less than
$1,000.
If you haven’t started already, now is the time to begin
saving for your retirement, no matter what your age. If
retirement is near, you’ll want to jump into the fast lane
right away. If you’re younger and retirement seems a
lifetime away, it’s still in your best interest to begin
saving now, as compound interest will work to your
advantage. Investors and financial advisors agree that
saving when you’re young will make a world of difference
when the time comes to draw on your retirement savings.
Don’t take our word for it. You can check out the numbers
yourself. A great place to start figuring out how much you
will need for retirement is to learn how much you could
expect from Social Security. You can do that in minutes with
Social Security’s online Retirement Estimator.
The Retirement Estimator offers an instant and
personalized estimate of your future retirement benefits
based on your earnings record. Try it out at
www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.
We encourage saving for retirement, but there are reasons to
save for every stage of life. A great place to go for help
is www.mymoney.gov. MyMoney.gov is the U.S. government's
website dedicated to teaching Americans the basics about
financial education. Whether you are planning to buy a home,
balancing your checkbook, or investing in your 401(k) plan,
the resources on www.MyMoney.gov can help you do it better.
Throughout the site, you will find important information
from 20 federal agencies government wide.
Another excellent resource is the Ballpark Estimator
at www.choosetosave.org/ballpark. This online tool takes
complicated issues, like projected Social Security benefits
and earnings assumptions on savings and turns them into
language and mathematics that are easy to understand.
These online resources are a great way to spend a rainy day.
And if you’re hungry for more, dive into a wealth of further
information at www.socialsecurity.gov.
|
About The Author
Delia M.
De Mello has been with the Social Security Administration
since 1986. She was recently promoted to Metropolitan Public
Affairs Specialist and a member of the Office of
Communication’s Multi Language Review team, which translates
and reviews SSA publications in all spoken languages. For
more information, please call (800) 772-1213 or visit
www.socialsecurity.gov.
|
|
