- It’s never too early -or too late- to start saving for retirement.
- If you are just starting out, focus on saving as much as you can now.
- If you are nearing retirement, consider increasing contributions to your savings or delaying Social Security.
When planning for retirement, the truth is that the earlier you start saving and investing, the better off you’ll be, thanks to the power of compound interest. And even if you began saving late or have yet to begin, it’s important to know that you are not alone, and there are steps you can take to increase your retirement savings. “It’s never too late to get started,” says Debra Greenberg, director, IRA product management, Merrill Lynch.
Consider the following tips, which can help you boost your savings-no matter what your current stage of life-and pursue the retirement you envision.
1: Focus on starting today.
Especially if you’re just beginning to put money away for retirement, start saving and investing as much as you can now, and let compound interest-the ability of your assets to generate earnings, which are reinvested to generate their own earnings-have an opportunity to work in your favor. “The more you can invest when you’re young, the better off you’ll be,” Greenberg says.
2: Contribute to your 401(k).
If your employer offers a traditional 401(k) plan, it allows you to contribute pre-tax money, which can be a significant advantage. Say you’re in the 15% tax bracket and plan to contribute $100 per pay period. Since that money comes out of your paycheck before taxes are assessed, your take-home pay will drop by only $85. That means you can invest more of your income without feeling it as much in your monthly budget.1 If your employer offers a Roth 401(k) option, which uses income after taxes rather than pre-tax funds, you should consider what your income tax bracket will be in retirement to help you decide whether this is a good choice for you.
3: Meet your employer’s match.
If your employer offers to match your 401(k) plan, make sure you contribute at least enough to take full advantage of the match, Greenberg says. For example, an employer may offer to match 50% of employee contributions up to 5% of your salary. That means if you earn $50,000 a year and contribute $2,500 to your retirement plan, your employer would kick in another $1,250. It’s essentially free money. Don’t leave it on the table.
4: Open an IRA.
Consider establishing an individual retirement account (IRA) to help build your nest egg. You have two options: Traditional IRA may be right for you depending on your income and whether you and/or your spouse have a workplace retirement plan. Contributions to a Traditional IRA may be tax-deductible (see tax deductibility) and the investment earnings have the opportunity to grow tax-deferred until you make withdrawals during retirement. If you meet the income eligibility requirements, Roth IRAs may be a good choice for you.2 They are funded with after-tax contributions, so once you have turned age 59½, qualified withdrawals, including earnings, are federal-tax-free (and may be state-tax-free) if you’ve held the account for at least five years. To determine what type of IRA would work best for you, go to Find out which IRA may be right for you and also check the IRA Contribution Limits chart, below.
*A traditional IRA also offers tax deductible contributions, if you are eligible
Consult your tax advisor. Deadline to make contributions: 4/15/15.
5: Take advantage of catch-up contributions if you are age 50 or older.
One of the reasons it’s important to start saving early if you can is that yearly contributions to IRAs and
401(k) plans are limited. The good news? Once you reach age 50, you’re eligible to go beyond the normal limits with catch-up contributions to IRAs and 401(k)s.3 So if over the years, you haven’t been able to save as much as you would have liked, catch-up contributions can help boost your retirement savings. Take a look at the chart, below, for contribution limits for individuals over the age of 50.
*A traditional IRA also offers tax deductible contributions, if you are eligible
Consult your tax advisor. Deadline to make contributions: 4/15/15.
6: Automate your savings.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “pay yourself first.” Make your retirement contributions automatic each month and you’ll have the opportunity to potentially grow your nest egg without having to think about it, Greenberg says. The Merrill Edge® Automated Funding Service allows you to automate regular contributions to your Merrill Edge® IRA from another account at Merrill Edge, Bank of America or other financial institution. You can also automate your investment selection with the Merrill Edge Automatic Investment Plan, which invests assets automatically in specific funds.4
7: Rein in spending.
Examine your budget. You might negotiate a lower rate on your car insurance or save by bringing your lunch to work instead of buying it. Merrill Edge® has an online budget worksheet and cash flow calculator that can help you determine where your money is going-and find places to reduce spending so you have more to save or invest.
8: Set a goal.
Knowing how much you’ll need not only makes the process of investing easier but also makes it more rewarding. Set benchmarks along the way, and gain satisfaction as you pursue your retirement goal. Use the Merrill Edge® Personal Retirement Number tool to help determine at what age you can retire and how much you may need to invest and save to do so.
9: Stash extra funds.
Extra money? Don’t just spend it. Every time you receive a raise, increase your contribution percentage. Dedicate at least half of the new money to your retirement plan. And while it may be tempting to take that tax refund or salary bonus and splurge on a new designer purse or a vacation, “don’t treat those extra funds as found money,” Greenberg says. She advises that you treat yourself to something small and use the rest to help make big leaps toward your retirement goal.
10: Consider delaying Social Security as you get closer to retirement.
“This is a big one,” Greenberg says. “For every year you can delay receiving a Social Security payment before you reach age 70, you can increase the amount you receive in the future.” Age 62 is the earliest you can begin receiving Social Security benefits, but for each year you wait (until age 70), your monthly benefit will increase, and the additional income adds up quickly, as the chart below shows. Pushing your retirement back even one year could significantly boost your Social Security income during retirement.5 Read the Merrill Edge topic paper “Time Is Money: How Waiting to Collect Social Security Can Boost Your Benefit” for more insights on why you might want to wait to collect Social Security.
FRENCH VERSION
Points clés :
Examiner les conseils suivants, qui peuvent vous aider à nestimuler votre épargne-aucun question quel stade votre courantde vie- et de poursuivre la retraite que vous envisagez.
1: mettre l’accent sur a partir d’aujourd’hui.
Surtout si vous commencez juste à ranger l’argent pour leur retraite, commencer à épargner et investir autant que vouspouvez maintenant et laissez les intérêts composés-la capacitéde vos actifs pour générer des revenus, qui sont réinvesties pourgénérer leur propres revenus, ont l’occasion de travailler en votrefaveur. « Plus vous pouvez investir quand tu es jeune, mieux vous serez, » dit Greenberg.
2: contribuer à votre 401 (k).
Si votre employeur offre un régime 401 (k) traditionnel, il vouspermet de contribuer argent avant impôt, ce qui peut être unavantage significatif. Que vous êtes dans la tranche d’impositionde 15 % et que vous envisagez de contribuer 100 $ par périodede paie. Étant donné que l’argent sort de votre salaire avant taxessont établis, votre salaire va baisser de seulement 85 $. Quesignifie que vous pouvez investir plus de vos revenus sans se sentir aussi bien dans votre mensuel budget.1 si votre employeuroffre un Roth 401 (k) option, qui utilise le revenu après impôtsplutôt que les fonds avant impôts, vous devriez considérer ce quevotre tranche d’impôt sur le revenu sera à la retraite pour vousaider à décider s’il s’agit d’un bon choix pour vous.
3: répondre aux match de votre employeur.
Si votre employeur vous propose d’assortir votre plan 401 (k),assurez-vous que vous contribuez au moins assez pour profiterpleinement du match, dit Greenberg. Par exemple, un employeurpeut offrir correspondre à 50 % des cotisations de l’employéjusqu’à 5 % de votre salaire. Cela signifie que si vous gagnez $ 50000 par an et contribuer $ 2 500 à votre régime de retraite, votreemployeur s’enclencherait un autre $ 1 250. C’est essentiellementde l’argent. Ne pas laisser sur la table.
4: ouvrir un plan d’épargne.
Envisager la création d’un compte de retraite individuel (IRA)pour aider à construire votre pécule. Vous avez deux options :traditionnelle IRA peut être bon pour vous, selon vos revenus etsi vous et/ou votre conjoint avez un régime de retraite du lieu detravail. Contributions à une IRA traditionnels peuvent êtredéductibles d’impôt (voir déductibilité fiscale) et le revenu deplacement ont la possibilité de grandir à imposition différéejusqu’à ce que vous faites des retraits au cours de la retraite. Sivous remplissez les conditions d’admissibilité de revenu, les RothIRAs peut être un bon choix pour vous.2 ils sont financés par descontributions après impôts, donc une fois que vous avez activéles retraits qualifié 59½, âge, y compris les salaires, sont exemptsde taxe-fédérale (et peut-être d’État exempt d’impôt) si vous avez tenu compte pendant au moins cinq ans. Pour déterminerquel type d’IRA fonctionnerait mieux pour vous, aller pour savoirqui IRA peut vous convenir et également consulter le tableau desplafonds de cotisation IRA, ci-dessous.
Contribution graphique
* Une traditionnelle IRA offre également fiscale des cotisationsdéductibles, si vous êtes admissible
5: tirer parti des contributions de rattrapage si vous êtes d’âge de50 ans ou plu.
Une des raisons pour lesquelles il est important de commencer àépargner tôt, si tu peux est cette année des contributions auxrégimes de pension et
Contribution graphique
 
