Money Makeover: Better late than never on retirement savings

jberman — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:45:00 GMT

Dallas Morning News, August 3rd, 2009

Sarah Auclair wants to retire eight years from now at age 65, but, for now, that will have to remain a dream.

Auclair has nothing saved for retirement, so reaching her goal will require a concerted effort on her part – starting with making regular contributions to her employer's 401(k) plan.

"She's got an awfully late start," said certified financial planner Michael Busch.

Busch, president of Vogel Financial Advisors LLC in Dallas, and fellow planner Melissa Brennan drew up a financial plan for Auclair as part of a Money Makeover sponsored by The Dallas Morning News and the Financial Planning Association.

Auclair, an executive assistant, is aware of the value of the 401(k), especially since her employer matches employee contributions dollar for dollar, up to 6 percent of salary.

But she says she needs every cent of her paycheck to pay her bills.

"Although I have access to my company's 401(k), I have been hesitant to enroll," Auclair said. "How much is that going to take out of my income that I take home to pay my bills? I'm afraid to shave anything off my take-home pay."

Busch said Auclair needs to make saving a priority.

"If Sarah waits to save until she feels like she has her bills covered, she likely will never begin to save," he said. "It's a mind-set change, not a circumstance change, that is needed. If you are going to be an effective saver, you have to view your savings goal as the first 'bill' that gets paid each month."

Retirement planning, year by year

jberman — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:09:00 GMT

San Francisco Examiner, June 19th, 2009

Over the past few months, we have heard that Social Security and Medicare have been hit hard by the current recession. The experts are warning that these funds may be empty far sooner than previously expected. These warnings make us question the retirement safety net millions of workers have depended upon. Since more and more pension funds are disappearing or are greatly reduced, workers have to look to other solutions for retirement income. We can no longer count on employers. Plus many of us do have not employer sponsored retirement plans anyway.

And since other reports warn that baby boomers have not really saved enough for retirement, something must be done.

If you plan to retire within a decade, think about a 10-year plan:

10 Years to Go: Evaluate assets and debts. Check an online retirement calculator to determine how much money you will need for a successful retirement. Have you saved enough? Do you have a lot of debt? Compare where you are with where you need to be.

9 Years to Go: Do you have disability insurance in place to protect your income while you are working? Most employers provide this coverage. If yours does not, purchase your own insurance to cover you until retirement age.

NewRetirement Retirement News Digest : Pre-Retirement

Money Makeover: Better late than never on retirement savings

Retirement planning, year by year