Get Real About Retirement Savings  

How do you want to spend your retirement? Traveling or maybe spending time with your family? Whatever your retirement dreams, you have to start planning and saving now to make your dreams come true! Here are a few retirement savings tips and reminders:  
     
1. Plan to save
First, set a realistic retirement savings goal. Take into account how many years your retirement will last,what you want to do when you retire and how much you will need for each year of your retirement.   Next, schedule your savings. Depending on what works best for you, commit to saving a certain amount every year, every month or even every week for your retirement. Stick to your schedule. Lastly, regularly review your savings goal and schedule to make sure you’re still on track.

2. Start saving now 
It’s easy to put off saving for retirement to another day. The earlier you start the more likely you will save enough for retirement. By starting sooner rather than later, you will also benefit more from compounding – earnings on previous earnings.

3. Participate in your employer’s plan 
Start participating in your employer’s retirement plan as soon as you can. If the plan allows you to contribute to the plan from your wages, contribute as much as you can up to the plan limits, which for 2012 are:

• $17,000 to 401(k) or 403(b) plans  
• $11,500 to SIMPLE plans   

If you are 50 or older by the end of the year, your plan most likely will allow you to make additional  (catch-up) contributions of $5,500 to 401(k) or 403(b) plans, and $2,500 to SIMPLE plans. If your employer doesn’t have a retirement plan, ask if one can be started.

4.  Contribute to IRAsContributing to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) is a simple way to save for your retirement. For 2012, you may be able to contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA the smaller of:

• $5,000 ($6,000 if you are age 50 or older), or 
• your taxable compensation for the year. 

Some factors may limit or eliminate your ability to make IRA contributions while others may limit you  from deducting your traditional IRA contributions.

5. Avoid early withdrawals Your retirement savings are for when you retire. To maximize the amount available when you actually retire, avoid taking money out early from retirement plans and IRAs. Remember that you usually have to pay an additional 10% tax on the amount of money you take out of your plans or IRAs before you reach age 59½, unless you qualify for an exception.