3 Ways to Rescue Your Retirement If You’ve Fallen Behind

From Real Deal Retirement
By Walter Updegrave

I’m in my late 50s and not as prepared for retirement as I’d like to be. I have the equivalent of about one year’s salary saved in my 401(k) and that’s about it. What can I do improve my retirement prospects?

Generally, you should have six to nine times your salary tucked away in a 401(k) or other accounts by your mid-50s to early 60s to have a good shot at maintaining your standard of living in retirement. So you’re definitely short of where you ought to be.

On the bright side, at least you know you have some catching up to do. Not everyone who’s behind does. For example, a February study by researchers from Ohio State and the University of Alabama found that 27% of 55- to-60-year-olds included in the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances hadn’t accumulated the resources they’d need to maintain their standard of living in retirement, yet seemed to think they were doing just fine. The researchers labeled them “unrealistic optimists.”

But even though you’re behind, there’s no need to panic. You’ve got plenty of time to improve your retirement outlook, provided you’re willing to embark on a bold catch-up plan starting right now. Here are the three things you need to do.

To see the 3 ways recommend by By Walter Updegrave, retirement expert and author of Real Deal Retirement click here.