No one wants to work until their dying day.
Sadly, though, a lot of people are in that exact situation.
As it stands, most Americans cant afford to retire.
Americas impending retirement crisis has taken over the headlines lately, but its an easy thing to ignore.
For one, the word retirement isnt exciting.
But that doesnt mean the problem doesnt exist, and as time goes on, its getting worse.
Thats just not enough to live on for decades after retirement.
Whatarethese entities, exactly?
It helps to think of your retirement as a three-legged stool.
But these are becoming a thing of the past, as fewer companies offer this perk.
In other words, its a vehicle for your personal savings.
Plus, you have to learn how to properly invest.
Often, many of us dont bother with either.
Another problem is Social Security benefits are diminishing.
Ignoring the crisis means neglecting the only leg your retirement has to stand on.
And after the 2008 financial crisis, its easy to be skeptical of that industry.
This means were at the mercy of funds, the stock market, and brokerage firms.
If all ofthatisnt enough of a problem, were also living longer.
There are bills to pay, and youll probably have medical bills, which can be a huge expense.
In a nutshell, Americans arehugelyunprepared for retirement.
How Can We Fix It?
A small percentage of the employees paycheck is automatically saved in the state-run individual retirement account (IRA).
But these state initiatives make saving for retirement the default, which will encourage people to save.
We need reform, but, unfortunately, theres no easy solution.
(The AARP has a neat toolthat lets you play lawmaker and try out different solutions, though).
Yes, that means investing: that thing everyone is scared and skeptical of.
If retirement is far away for you, thats good news.
You have time on your side, and time makes a huge difference.
The more you invest early,the more compound interest will beef that up over time.
Dont have a 401(k)?
You canstart an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)on your own.
Investingisnt as hard as you probably thinkit isyou can learn the basics in an afternoon.
You may have the option of working longer: in other words, postponing your retirement.
Putting in another 20% of time gets you 76% more in Social Security.
Plus, that also gives you more time to beef up your savings.
At the very least, youll want to sit down and crunch the numbers.
Use theAARPs retirement calculatorto help figure out how much you might get by with at retirement.
you’re free to alsocalculate your social security benefits online.
Whatever your age, you should have a solid retirement plan in place.
Even if youre broke and in debt, think of paying off that debt as part of your plan.
As it stands, most of us dont have enough to stop working one day.
Its an overwhelming problem, and a lot of the answers might seem out of our hands.
However, ignoring it only makes things worse.
Illustration by Tara Jacoby.