Make Your Retirement Planning Count

Most Americans who are saving for their retirement have the better part of 30 years to prepare. But the average pre-retirement Baby Boomer does not have enough savings for their retirement years, and one third of Americans have no retirement savings at all.

If you’re one of the many who sees retirement as a real option in the next decade, here are some things to turn up the volume on your savings in the years you have left:

Contribute to a Roth IRA

Contributions to a Roth IRA are made with after-tax dollars, but distributions in retirement are tax free. This account often gets pitched to young, lower-income workers. Because taxes are paid on the front end, you lock in your current tax rate. That’s a good thing if you expect that rate to go up in retirement.

Consider a Health Savings Account

Contributions to a health savings account are tax-deductible, and distributions for medical expenses are tax free. An HSA must be linked to a high-deductible health insurance policy, which has higher deductibles, but lower premiums. The idea is that plan holders put their premium savings into an HSA to be used for medical expenses before meeting that higher deductible.

Debt

Get rid of your debt, so that by the time retirement arrives, you won’t have to spend any extra money on paying off your credit cards, etc. Work out a step by step plan to pay down your debt.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES

Material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be used in connection with the evaluation of any investments offered by David Lerner Associates, Inc. This material does not constitute an offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.

To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law. Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on his or her individual circumstances.

These materials are provided for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable– we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice.

David Lerner Associates does not provide tax or legal advice. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. Member FINRA & SIPC