As the Baby Boomer generation continues to age, more and more Americans are retiring — in fact, 6,000 people turn 65, the average age of retirement, every day in the United States.
Yet many people reaching retirement age are finding out the hard way that they haven’t saved enough for their retirement. The Employee Benefit Research Institute has found that 46% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement — and 29% of these people have less than $1,000 saved. When the average length of retirement is around 18 years, this is far from enough money to have saved up for retirement.
Many people think of certified financial planners as the people to go to for help with tax planning, wealth transfer, charitable giving or asset protection. But a certified financial planner can also help you save enough money to live a comfortable retirement.
Here are the four biggest reasons why you should be saving for your retirement with the help of a certified financial planner now:
1. Compound interest grows your savings: Ask any certified financial planner, and he or she will tell you that your savings grow faster the earlier you start saving funds for retirement. For example, if you save just $2,000 a year starting at age 22, your savings will grow to more than half a million dollars by age 65.
2. There will be fewer financial resources: Social Security is projected to start running out of money in 2033 — followed by Medicare in 2024. That means that it’s incredibly important to work with a certified financial planner to help you understand how much you need to save to cover your living and healthcare expenses when you retire.
3. Few companies offer pensions: Your grandparents’ pension that sustains them during retirement won’t likely be available to you when you retire. Less and less companies offer pensions to their workers who retire due to economic constraints — knowing this, a certified financial planner can help you save enough for your retirement.
4. You might live longer: Americans are living longer than they were even 20 years ago. You can retire at 65 and live for as much as 30 more years — or even more. To fully enjoy this time of your life, it’s essential to begin saving now with the help of a certified financial planner. More on this topic. Learn more.