OK America Its Time to Wake Up

The EBRI (Employee Benefit Research Institute) just released their 17th annual report on the state of retirement savings in this country. It is a bit scary. Two things stood out to me. About half of workers under 62 have less than $25,000 dollars saved for retirement. Yet 68% of those same workers say that they are confident in their retirement. Very few know when their social security will kick in or how much it will be. The scary thing about this report is that even though the vast majority of workers are not saving for retirement, they don't even realize that they are heading toward a fiscal disaster. It is one thing to know you are in trouble so you can try to fix your problem, but quite another to be in trouble and not be going after the medicine to fix your illness!

I have news for you. As a Certified Senior Advisor, I have seen the future with many retirees today who did save more than $25,000 and who do not have excess money today. People are living longer and likely because of that, demand for social security, Medicaid and Medicare will increase and because of that we cannot count on our government to fully fund our retirement. Social Security was always meant as a supplement-- so we need to save so we will have an additional stream of income when we are no longer working full time.

It is hard to imagine that in one of the most affluent countries on the planet that the US actually has a negative savings rate. It is not that we cannot save--it is simply that we choose to live for today. It is not really that hard to plan for retirement. It consists of only two basic components. Number one, it is necessary to make a decision to pay yourself first. Ten percent is a great place to start. If you are older than 40 and your income is high enough, 20% will build wealth faster. Number two, you have to have a plan. Most people spend more time planning their weeks vacation than planning their retirement. It is not enough to just set aside some money, but you need to consider all the tax consequences, retirement dates, health care issues, risk, and rates of return. A professional advisor who understands the end result is a critical part of the process. But, stay away from advisors who do not look at your whole picture including your mortgage and real estate issues. If someone just says, move your money here and you will get a higher rate of return, he/she is not the professional you want. You need to have someone who can create an entire plan incorporating mortgages, real estate, taxes, insurances, investments and estate planning.

Don't wait; plan your retirement now whether you are 25 or 55. Doing nothing insures that you will have very few choices when you get to 65!

Reverse Mortgage Man
http://www.4yourequity.com/