First Bank of the Lake: Is Your Retirement Secure?

If you're like most of the U.S. population, you probably hope to retire someday. If you're like 80% of the population, you may also believe that you won't have enough money saved to support yourself in your retirement.

Retirement is the icing on the cake after a long and fulfilling career - the final chapter in the book on the American Dream. While most of us dream about retirement, the unfortunate truth is that many of us are grossly under-prepared. In honor of National Retirement Security Week, your friends at First Bank of the Lake are here to share a few eye-opening statistics about the state of retirement in the U.S.

A Current Look At Retirement In The United States
Source: The Motley Fool

If you want to draw $5,000 per month for 30 years of retirement, you'll need to have over 1 million dollars saved.
The average 50 year old only has $42,797 saved for retirement.
80% of adults between 30 and 54 years old believe they won't have enough money saved for retirement.
38% of people don't actively save for retirement at all.
45% of Americans don't have anything saved for retirement.
36% of adults ages 65 and over are completely dependent on Social Security.
Starting in 2034, Social Security will only be able to cover 77% of the promised benefits.

Tips To Plan For A Secure Retirement

Don't end up as part of the population who can't support itself in retirement. If you want a relaxing retirement, it is critical that you start taking steps to plan for it now (no matter how old you are). In order to better prepare for your future retirement, start incorporating the following habits into your daily life:

1. Set aside something every month. Ideally, you should set up an automatic withdrawal so that you contribute the maximum allowable amount in your retirement accounts every year. Even if that isn't feasible yet, you should still try to set aside something every month - even if you contributions are sometimes as small as $50.

2. Take advantage of employee-sponsored savings. Unfortunately, the majority of employers in the United States don't offer any retirement benefits. If you are lucky enough to work for a company that does, you should absolutely take advantage of it. Even if their contributions are small, they can add up in the long run.

3. Pay off debt. Paying off old debt does not directly contribute to your retirement plan, but eliminating debt will significantly reduce the expenses you have to cover once you retire. This will allow you to use the money you have saved to cover the real-time costs of supporting yourself in retirement.

4. Take advantage of catch-up savings. If you are 50 years of age or older, you should be allowed to contribute more money to your retirement accounts per year. Don't let this opportunity go to waste.

5. Open multiple retirement accounts. Different accounts have maximum allowable contributions per year, but you can contribute more if you have multiple accounts in your name. At a minimum, we recommend having both an IRA and a 401(k).

First Bank Of The Lake Can Help You Meet Your Retirement Goals

If you are planning for retirement at the Lake of the Ozarks, contact First Bank of the Lake about setting up an IRA with us. We offer a variety of Individual Retirement Account options so you can select the one that will best meet your needs. For more information about our retirement savings accounts in Osage Beach MO, give us a call at 573-348-2265.

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