Irrespective of what you earned in your hay day, you need to save for your retirement years. Simply relying on your Social Security benefit isn’t a wise choice; it is imperative that you save enough money for your retirement when you are earning. The golden rule of saving for retirement is that you have to start as early as you can. Apart from this, there are certain practical ways that will help you save money for your twilight years.

Start today
Irrespective of whether you adhered to the golden rule, it’s never too late to start saving for retirement. So, here’s what you can dostart today. Ensure that you start saving money for retirement, make sound investments, and understand the power of compound interest. The sooner you invest money, the higher the benefits you obtain from it.

Contribute to the 401(k)
Most employers provide the traditional 401(k) plan, and if your employer adheres to this practice, it is advisable that you opt for it. The 401(k) plan allows you to contribute your pre-tax money to the plan, and this is indeed a major advantage for you since you are saving for your retirement. You need to consider what your tax bracket will be post-retirement while contributing to the 401(k) plan, especially if your employer offers Roth 401(k) since it makes use of income after taxes rather than pre-tax funds.

Open an IRA
To ensure that you have sufficient money for retirement in your reserve, you can consider establishing an individual retirement account (IRA) which will give an impetus to your retirement savings. You can choose the traditional IRA that depends on your income and is tax deductible. This provides you with the perfect opportunity to watch your investment investments grow tax-deferred until you finally make a withdrawal during your retirement. The second option is to opt for Roth IRAs that are funded with your after-tax contributions, and once you turn fifty-nine and a half years old, your earnings and qualified withdrawals become federal tax free.

Meet the employer’s match
If your employer is willing to match your 401(k) plan, it will work in your favor to match the employer’s contribution. For instance, if your employer offers to match 50% of the employee contribution up to 5% of your salary, this means that you can earn around $50,000 in a year, and contribute $2,500 to your retirement plan. In addition to this, the employer will be contributing $1,250, and this money is earned without you having to work for it. So, meet your employer’s match and don’t leave this opportunity to add to your retirement savings.