The Big Retirement Myth That Could Ruin Your Plans
Written by
Chris Adam
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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According to Maurie Backman from The Motley Fool, the big retirement myth that can be harmful is assuming you’ll have time to catch up with retirement savings. Backman said it’s a myth that many workers tell themselves at various points in their careers.
What might this look like in real life? Perhaps it means neglecting IRAs and 401(k) plans in the early years of working because someone thinks they’ll be able to catch up later.
Missing Out on Money
The obvious first issue is a worker never knows if their career might end up getting cut short for health issues, industry shakeups or other reasons. Additionally, starting later with saving probably means years of missed gains and compounded returns.
“It can be dangerous to assume you can just work longer,” said Marguerita Cheng, certified financial planner (CFP) and CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth. “Sometimes there are circumstances beyond our control, such as job loss, illness or divorce loss of a loved one.”
Making Calculation Mistakes
Speaking of calculations, according to Dr. Annie Cole, a financial coach and founder of Money Essentials for Women, “Most of us are taught to save for retirement, but few of us are taught how to actually calculate our retirement needs down to the dollar.”
Specifically, Cole said there are three problem areas when it comes to calculations: Forgetting to adjust for inflation, forgetting to include retirement-specific costs and miscalculating taxes. For retirement-specific costs, it’s important to consider how health insurance, mortgage payments and more will hit your retirement budget.
Waiting for a ‘Magic Number’
For Taylor Kovar, CFP and CEO of 11 Financial, the biggest myth he hears about retirement is that there’s a magic number everyone needs to hit.
“That’s just not true,” he said. “Retirement looks different for every person. I always tell people wealth equals freedom, and freedom doesn’t look the same for everyone.”
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