retirement savings

You’re rounding the corner toward retirement age with not nearly enough set aside.

We tell young people to start saving for retirement from their first job and not to quit, because even small sums can grow staggeringly large with enough decades of compound returns. But maybe you bumped along from paycheck to paycheck, never saving much. Or maybe you tried to save but got slammed with unexpected setbacks like a late-in-life job loss.

Let’s be clear: You can’t make up for lost time.

In my latest for the Associated Press, what you need to do in order to make your retirement more comfortable.

First, you were supposed to die at 85. Then 90. Now 95 and even 100 are common defaults when financial planners tell people how much to save for retirement.

Except that’s nuts.

In the U.S., the typical man at age 65 is expected to live another 18 years. The typical woman, about 20. Yet many financial planners contend we should save as if we’re all going to be centenarians.

In my new column for the Associated Press, why we need to save for the retirement we’re most likely to have.

There’s really only one thing young people need know about money: Save for retirement, starting now.

Yes, at some point you’ll want to pay off your debt, have an emergency fund and buy a home. Right now, though, you’re burning through your most limited resource, which is time. You can’t make more of it, you can’t get it back when it’s gone, and you have a limited window to harness its power.

In my latest for NerdWallet, why it’s imperative for young people to start saving for retirement immediately.