When budgeting for your financial needs today, don’t neglect saving for retirement down the road. The more money you put away — particularly in the early years — the larger your nest egg will be. Here are a few tips to help you reassess your retirement contributions and determine if it’s time to start putting away more.
Analyze Your Financial Debt
When you’re struggling to make minimum payments on debt, the last thing on your mind might be saving for retirement. But if you have some breathing room in your budget, it might make sense to increase your contributions to your retirement plan.
Earmark Your Raises for Retirement
If you’ve received a raise since the last time you increased your retirement contributions, determine how you used the additional income. Have you paid down debt or started an emergency fund? Were all of your purchases necessary? If you think some of your pay increase could have been used more effectively, consider immediately dedicating a portion of your next raise toward your retirement savings so that you don’t get used to having the extra money.
Calculate Your Employer Match to Retirement Contributions
If your employer offers a retirement plan, it may also offer a matching contribution — meaning your employer will match your contributions to the plan up to a certain percentage or amount and will deposit its contribution into your account, which increases your account balance. If you have breathing room in your budget, finding ways to contribute up to your employer’s contribution match limit will help you get the biggest bang for your buck.
Consider Retirement Contribution Tax Benefits
Many retirement plans allow you to invest pre-tax contributions, but some households qualify for an even greater tax benefit. The retirement savings contribution credit, also known as the saver’s credit, helps offset part of the first $2,000 workers voluntarily contribute to workplace or individual retirement plans, such as 503(b)s , 401(k)s and IRAs. In 2020, the saver’s credit can be claimed by married couples filing jointly with adjusted gross incomes up to $65,000, heads of households with incomes up to $48,750, and married individuals filing separately and singles with incomes up to $32,500. Investing your tax refund into your retirement fund is another way to boost your savings each year.
Learning more about where your money goes — and how it could grow — is a good way to start thinking about your retirement contributions. With the right focus and a smart strategy, you can begin to find new ways of saving for retirement.
Assess whether your current contributions will help you achieve your retirement goals with the Regions Save for Retirement calculator.
