Retirement will start approaching really fast, no matter how old you are, and if you do not yet have an IRA, an individual retirement savings account, and even for some of you who do, you could be in for a very nasty shock. The amount needed for retirement is a great deal more than most people ever expect, in part because so many people are now living longer, well into their nineties, and even to over one hundred years old. Do you realize, that if you started work when you were 20 and worked till you were sixty (ie 40 years), then that could be the number of years of retirement income that you need to save. How can you possibly save enough to support your retirement unless you save half of every pay cheque that you earn? Scary isn't it?
Now, because of the tough economy, many people who should have been able to retire have had to postpone doing so, as they have found that they have insufficient funds even for the present never mind the future. Even for those who have been able to grow their IRA accounts, they might still have a tough time making ends meet, since what they thought was plenty of money to live on, really doesn't provide for very much at all for their retirement.
There is a very strong message that is sent here, and that is that everyone should try their hardest to get some savings put into an IRA, an individual savings account, regularly, and save as much as possible for as long as possible. Now, I know that this is not always possible, and through no fault of your own. Circumstances change what we thought was a sure thing, the economy changes the number of jobs available, and the number of people applying for those jobs. Life happens, and we just have to make the most of what we can. Unfortunately, that means low or no funds available for retirement, and since it is unlikely that the government is going to be able to help us out sufficiently, it looks like the times are going to be very hard for our seniors.
When it comes to choosing which type of account to put your savings into, there are plenty of choices. Each fund needs to be carefully considered, since they all tend to be run a little differently. Some savings accounts have you deposit funds into them from money that has already been taxed, which means that when you take the funds out in your retirement, you do not have to pay any tax. For other accounts, you are tax exempt now, but you will have to pay the taxes when you withdraw the funds during your retirement. Both of these have their own advantages, but as always, you should chat with your financial adviser to see what is best in your case for your IRAs.
Many companies have their own retirement fund that you can pay into.This used to be seen as a very secure proposition, but since the Enron disaster, people are more wary about using company retirement plans.The good news is that there are plenty of other plans that you can use. For example, you could invest in a Roth IRA, which is a somewhat newer retirement option. This account means that you pay the federal tax up front, so that when you withdraw the funds during your retirement you will not have to pay any federal tax.
Now, the most important thing of all is for you to have an IRA account, and that you make deposits to it regularly. Obviously the larger the deposit the better it will be for your future, as it will give you a better quality of life. However, anything you can manage to save is much better than nothing when it comes to your IRA retirement savings. We can not depend on their being sufficient funds in the social security to be able to pay us a reasonable amount to live on, nor can we depend on there being a nice healthy inheritance form our relatives. In these days of economic uncertainty, there is no guarantee that social services will be able to provide us with a decent standard of living during our retirement, so we need to make sure the funds are there, by putting them aside ourselves. Remember that other people are struggling too, and having to eat into their savings, so what you thought might be a large inheritance, may not actually turn out that way. Do not have your retirement depend fully on government funds for your retirement, try to save some of your own each month. With careful planning and plenty of deposits into your IRAs, you will be able to live and enjoy your golden retirement years.
Author Resource:
It is a hard thing to do, especially with the economy as it is, but putting money regularly into an IRA account, an Individual Retirement Account, is a very worthwhile investment. Steve Jackson takes a look at the different types of IRAs , and discusses options that may suit your needs for your retirement. Take a look at www.ira-retirement.com for more worthwhile information about the different IRAs available to you today.
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