thinking ahead of retirement

I am 27. I got a decent retirement plan about a year and a half ago when I started working for the state. Right now 10% of my earnings are going into that but I also started a Deferred Compensation Plan. This plan allows me to make pre-taxed contributions to it. Right now I am younger, and don't have a family yet so I have my money being invested into stocks over seas which are high risk. The return can be much higher. I am starting early so I can quit working early. My goal is to be able to retire at age 56. That is maximum. So right now while I have no children or no marriage, etc, I am putting the maximum that I can into it. I would actually like to own my own business one day. When I retire I wouldn't mind running something. I also want to be able to relax and do whatever, whenever....which can get pretty expensive. LOL.

Yes, me and my husband being thinkin' about retirement for a few years now. I am 38(turned 38 yesterday) and he is 45. We have been saving, and planning for the day we can retire. We plan on buying some property and want to go back to the old days. Raising a few cows, chickens, and vegetables gardens, so it will help us to survive. We also want to get a few horses for the grandchildren. What we basically want is our own little piece of paradise. We are just what some would call "simple folks".

Don't wait! I started saving at 40 and regret not having more...of course I lost my job a few years ago and had to live off of it..so now at almost 55, I will only get getting the shaft. My son is 22, and is putting away money for his retirement. It is the best way to do it, start young, he will be a millionaire long before he can retire. Don't count on it from your company, they are taking away most of the retirement benefits.

You can't start planning to early! I went to work for the County government when I was 23. I had just finished college and looked at different places for employment. I happened to be divorced by then and had one daughter. When I checked out jobs with the County, I quickly discovered that I could make more in the private sector, but in some instances, there really were no benefits. Your benefits sometimes are worth lots more than your salary. Luckily, I chose the County. I say that because in my late 30's and into my 40's, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Did I think that would ever happen? To me? No! I eventually had to retire on disability. Thanks to my job, I have retirement benefits (I paid into it and they matched it, plus interest), that are more than Social Security (which I also have); the county pays the biggest part of my insurance (the same I had when I worked). I still have my life insurance. So even though it took me several years to get over HAVING to retire, I am now beginning to enjoy it. With my Social Security and my retirement, I am doing great. I have enough money to enjoy myself as well as keep myself up. So, no, you can never start planning too early! Good luck! And don't fall for the "get rich quick" options some companies will offer (like stocks, etc.). I lost money with that!

Actually I want retire at my 50. I don't want work such a long time. I want give myself sometime to enjoy the life. Like travel to somewhere. Or do something I want. I want spend more time with my family after my 50.

I am right now scared that I won't even be able to take care of myself. I am 34 years old and have no retirement savings at all. I barely can even take care of myself. What would I have done if I ever had kids? I probably would have been a welfare mother.

I am 29 and have been thinking about retirement for a few years now. We started saving last year and will continue to do so. My husband isn't anywhere near being in his final career yet. He is one of those people who believes that they never will retire. I am the complete opposite. If someone told me tomorrow I would never have to work again, I would be perfectly happy.

Wise people think about retiremen, am 45 now and it natural something you cant keep away from your psyche-am glad it is on your mind-it shows a lot about your strategic thought-

I am close to your age and I worry about my husband and I having a comfortable life after retirement. With the prices going up on everything and the wages staying the same, I am not sure how they expect us to be financially set for those "golden years".

I'm and I funded my IRA with my Tax refund! well I put it in before I actually did my taxes and got the money but that's beside the point. I know the power of compounding and I'm out to make sure it helps me :D.

I'm glad you're starting to plan now, better late than never! I don't have much saved due to trusting my now ex-husband to do that stuff so don't you make the same mistake. Clark Howard dot com (I can't post links yet) has wonderful advice on his site. Take all the employer retirement plans that you can, especially if they will match contributions. Every little bit helps! Start saving as much as you can in an interest-bearing, fee-free savings account so that you're ready for emergencies and "rainy day" stuff and don't have to fall behind financially when illness hits or you're laid off, etc. So many people have to dip into their retirement funds or get on a downward spiral because they're not ready for financial emergencies. That's about the best advice I can give you. Good luck and I hope your future is wonderful!

Although it wasn't planned I finished work at age 49 last November. I am now taking a year off to decide what I want to do. I have been planning for my retirement in the financial sense since I was 17. I have 31 years of pension of a possible 40 and have qualified for my UK Old Age Pension that will pay out when I am 65 (but the Government are thinking of moving it up to 68). I don't claim any benefits so I don't feel that I am a drain on my fellow citizens. Right now, I am just enjoying doing what I want to do. Some days I do nothing, others I am so busy that the hours fly by. We own our house (almost), have no debts, good friends, daughter out of school and some money. If it stays like this I shall be a happy boy for evermore, health permitting. The thing that I enjoy most is watching others making their way to work. I get wonderfully smug then.

I retired 4 years ago and, once Social Security kicked in, I love it. My only real regret is not planning ahead for health insurance expenses. I have always had good health insurance at the places I worked and had no clue how expensive the private insurance policies had become. Never had any real health problems until I reached 60. After one visit to the ER and one outpatient surgery for a hernia I found out how much hospitals and doctors were getting for the simplest things nowdays. When you retire you lose your employee health plan (unless you can afford those Cobra plans) and Medicare doesn't start until you are 65, so you are pretty much on your own for a few years. So definately look into health insurance options before you break all ties to your current health plan.