Q: “I Am 50 and Have No Retirement Savings.”
It’s never too late to save for retirement. Here are steps you can take today to build your retirement savings.
Q: “I’m 50 and approaching retirement without savings. Is it too late for me? What can I do over the next 10 years or so to be in a better position once I reach retirement age?”
The current full retirement age for Social Security benefits is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. At 50, you still have almost two decades to save toward retirement.
Maximize Retirement Savings
The key is to get the ball rolling. For the years to come, put as much of your money as possible into a retirement plan. Don’t delay — sign into your accounts today and maximize your contribution elections through any employer-sponsored retirement plans. Depending on your income, you can contribute to your employer’s plan and may be able to also contribute to a separate deductible IRA for tax savings.
[Read: “Will I Ever Recover from Past Financial Ruin?”]
If you work independently, there are retirement accounts that you can maximize for savings, like a SEP IRA, which is like a personal profit-sharing plan. You can still contribute through a regular IRA, but the contribution limit is lower.
Revisit Your Budget
Do you have a good sense of where your money is going? Where can you reduce your spending? If you have consumer debt, prioritize paying it off, as this type of debt can seriously cut into potential retirement savings. In addition, are there ADHD-related issues — impulse spending, emotional dysregulation, “out of sight out of mind” and so on — that are affecting your ability to manage your hard-earned money?
Delay Retirement
No one can predict the future, but if you reach full retirement age and are in good health, continuing to work past age 67 may be a solid option for you. Retirement benefits increase by 8% annually beyond full retirement age up to age 70. If you wait until you’re 70, you could boost your monthly benefit by 24%. (Past 70, though, your monthly benefit stops increasing even if you continue to delay.)
Plenty of people continue to work past retirement age for these benefits and because they enjoy what they do. The Social Security Administration website has calculators and other tools that can help you plan.
Retirement and ADHD: Next Steps
- Free Download: ADHD-Friendly Budgeting Guide
- Read: 16 Ways to Better Manage Your Money with ADHD
- Read: The ADHD Guide to Saving Money
The content for this article was derived from the ADDitude ADHD Experts webinar titled, “Smart Money Habits for People with ADHD” [Video Replay & Podcast #522] with Otto Rivera, CFP®, EA, which was broadcast on September 24, 2024.
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