The Surprising Reasons Many People Won’t Retire

Most of us hope to retire someday, and for many that step will be more of a necessity. So you might be surprised to learn that 42 percent of all American workers will retire without any savings.

Obviously, we hope that you are not a part of that 42 percent! But we can still glean a few lessons from their mistakes, and avoiding those same mistakes can help increase the health of your own nest egg.

They’re focused on short-term savings goals. There’s definitely nothing wrong with saving for a home or even a vacation. But we should all arrange our priorities around retirement savings first, with everything else falling in line behind that – not the other way around.

They assume they will catch up later. Yes, you are allowed to make “catch up” contributions to qualified retirement accounts after age 50, but you shouldn’t rely on those to fund your retirement. The problem is that you can miss out on years – or even decades – of compounding interest. And there’s really no way to make up for that lost time.

They drain retirement accounts to cover emergency expenses. Some workers did save diligently for retirement, but later tapped that account to pay for an emergency expense. It can take years to regain the lost capital, but you can never make up for the loss of compounding interest. It’s almost always better to identify some other way to cover emergencies.

They think they don’t need it. The idea that Social Security covers retirement expenses is a common, but dangerous, misconception. The average benefit for people retiring this year will be about $1,400 per month. In most cases Social Security benefits are not sufficient to fund a retiree’s lifestyle, so make sure you have another stream of income.

They’re still dealing with student loan debt. Student loans are indeed a heavy burden for many workers. But don’t assume that you won’t qualify for consolidation, refinance, or “pay what you can afford” options. Contact your lender and ask about programs to address student loan debt, and apply for anything that might help you.

They fear the stock market. Yes, all investments come with some risk. But resist taking a short term approach, and focus on the long term. Over time, even a very conservative investment can grow your funds. By contrast, ignoring opportunities can be the bigger risk.

They don’t have access to an employer-provided plan. This situation definitely makes saving for retirement a bit less convenient, but you can still accomplish your goals with an IRA. If you fall into this category, give us a call and we’ll walk you through the retirement planning options available to you.