How to Play Catch up With Retirement Savings

June 29, 2021

We personal finance writers love early retirees, those prodigious savers who amass enough to quit the rat race well before age 65. Their stories are impressive, but the danger of focusing too much on them is that we risk alienating those who might be late to the savings game. And let’s face it, there are a lot more of them than there are early retirees. If you think that saving is only possible if you start early, then you might just give up in your 40s or 50s and not even try. But that’s when you can really buckle down and make up some lost time. When you get within five years of retirement, it’s harder to invest your way to a meaningful nest egg. But even then, something saved is better than nothing saved. Learn more about how to play catch up with retirement savings in today’s edition.

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Retire With Money Community News

This week in our Retire with Money Facebook group, members discussed this article on claiming Social Security. It found that only 13% of respondents said they plan to wait until age 70 to claim their benefits. You get the biggest monthly benefit if you wait until then — around 134% of what you’re owed, versus 75% of what you’re owed if you claim at 62 and 100% if you claim at full retirement age. Some people understandably can’t afford to wait until age 70. They need income sooner. Others are concerned about the break-even point, that age at which you receive the same amount whether you start early and receive more smaller payments or start late and receive fewer bigger payments. The break-even age is usually from the late 70s to early 80s, depending on when you claim. Some folks worry that if they die before they claim, or soon thereafter, they will have left money on the table. Personally, that wouldn't bother me. One member echoed my thoughts: “If I die young, I’ll be dead and won’t know the difference. Being 85 with a small check would be worse.”

Retirement News From Around The Web

What Will Be the Next Big Meme Stock? 
Chatter on Reddit’s Wall Street Bets offers clues. FORTUNE VIA YAHOO FINANCE

Woman Serves as Bat Girl for New York Yankees, Fulfilling 60-Year-Old Dream
Seventy-year-old Gwen Goldman applied to be a bat girl at age 10 and was rejected because of her gender. ESPN

Where Older Adults Are Most Financially Insecure
In each of the 100 biggest U.S. metros, at least 37% of single residents age 65 and older are at risk of being unable to afford basic needs. NEXT AVENUE

10 Important Ages for Retirement Planning
Test yourself: do you know all these milestones? U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

Elizabeth O'Brien is deputy editor at Money. She has covered retirement and health care for nearly a decade. A Brooklyn resident and mom of two boys, she navigates the alphabet soup of Medicare and the New York City subway system with equal ease. You can email her at elizabeth.obrien@money.com and follow her on Twitter at @elizobrien.

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