Latest News

Retirement planning is no slam-dunk. To make sure you retire in comfort, you have to start saving early and often. You need to pay attention to your money and not be distracted by the stresses and strains -- or the joys -- of day-to-day life. In the long run, you'll thank yourself for keeping one eye focused on the future.

To help you reach your retirement goals, here's a road map for navigating the decades as you move closer toward retirement age.

This is not going to be another one of the endless string of depressing and discouraging articles on how ill-prepared you are for your golden years. About how you don't have enough in your retirement savings accounts. About how you should have started sooner rather than later planning for retirement.

Yes, it's true that many Americans have simply ignored the fact that with the end of most pensions and the threats to Social Security, we're pretty much on our own in retirement. And surveys show that the average American has just $25,000 in the retirement kitty -- not even close to good enough.

We're in trouble, but we're going to help you fix it. It's simply not too late to bulk up your retirement savings if you act now!

Get started by learning the seven deadly retirement sins to avoid at all costs -- or a hellish retirement of scrimping and stress may be in your future.

With age comes some privileges, and chief among them may be getting discounts just for being older. And just how old is "older?" AARP, the country's largest lobbying group, considers you a senior when you turn 50.

But if that insult can be forgiven, then you can expect to be rewarded -- with deep and far-reaching discounts on everything from cruises, rental cars, outlet mall shopping, hotel room rates, books, groceries and even meals at Denny's (and not necessarily that Early Bird Special, either).

Stemming from the cultural belief that our elders deserve respect -- and a lingering bottom-line belief that seniors may be the last ones standing with any discretionary dollars left to spend -- there are discounts targeting seniors with age qualifications ranging from 50 to 65. AARP, which offers an annual $16 membership to those 50 or older, is a great place to start, but it isn't the only place to find deals.

Here are some of our other favorites:

Every year, Social Security snail-mails 150 million workers a statement estimating what their payments would be if they retired at age 62, 66 or 70. In our household, we call it the annual fantasy letter, trying to imagine that Social Security won't go bust before we reach those ages.

Now Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue has announced that in an effort to save money -- $70 million a year -- the agency is going to provide these statements online by the end of the year.

Taking Social Security benefits at 62 may seem like a good idea, but if you wait, you'll thank yourself later. Here are four reasons why:

1. You get less money when you claim early

If you take your Social Security at age 62, you take a 25% haircut. Or as Social Security points out here, if you are entitled to a $1,000 at your full retirement age -- 66 for most of us retiring soon -- you 'll get $750.

A spouse claiming on your record gets even less money. At full retirement age, if you get $1,000, your spouse will get $500. Take it early, and your spouse will get $350, just 30% of what he or she would get at your full retirement age.

While we're doing a lot of things "right" these days (such as paying more attention to our credit card statements, shopping more frugally, and redefining our vision of retirement), we're still making quite a few mistakes. And some of them can be costly -- like these five common consumer mistakes:

1. Not Knowing Our Credit Scores

This is a really important number, looked at by everyone from lenders to landlords and even a growing percentage of employers. In fact, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, as many as 60% of employers now look at this number. And while lenders look at it to gouge your creditworthiness, employers look at it more as a way to check your character. They need to know that you're responsible with your finances, and that you're going to focus on your job, not your financial woes.

Top your spring to-do list with an IRA tuneup -- before you sharpen the lawnmower blades and scrub up the the barbecue grill.

Here are four steps to getting your IRA and/or your 401(k) in top shape. Most of this advice comes from Dan Keady, director of financial planning for TIAA-CREF.

1. Total Up How Much You are Saving for Retirement, Then Figure out How to Add More

Get out the calculator and add up how much is going into your retirement accounts every month, including the amount that you are putting into your 401(k) at work and the interest that is growing on your IRA accounts from former employers or self employment. Then look for ways to up the ante. Here are some painless suggestions:

As my colleague Aaron Crowe pointed out in December, financial sites looking for some press coverage often generate lists; in this case, the best and worst states for retirement.

At that time, he reported on a study on this topic by MoneyRates.com. Recently another site, TopRetirements.com did a similar list, results below.

Ten worst states for retirement:
50. Illinois
49. California
48. New York
47. Rhode Island
46. New Jersey
45. Ohio
44. Wisconsin
43. Massachusetts
42. Connecticut
41. Nevada

Just because you don't have a 401(k) at work doesn't mean you can't (or shouldn't) save for retirement. There are many tools for putting money in the cookie jar and earmarking it for your old age that aren't reserved for those with a workplace retirement savings plan. Here are five ways to set up and manage your own, employer-free retirement savings plan.