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There are few times in life worth looking forward to that are better than retirement, unless it is retiring knowing you will have financial security for you and your family. Most people will spend years working, knowing retirement is going to sneak up on them, and unfortunately, few will begin planning soon enough. When talking to financial planners they will tell you that it is never too soon to begin planning for your financial future, but at some point, it will be too late.

It has often been said about business that those who fail to plan, are planning to fail and the same could be said about planning for retirement. There are very few who will not qualify for Social Security benefits when they reach the appropriate retirement age, but the money from those benefits is not likely to provide a lifestyle they have grown accustomed to living. For example, a person who averaged a net pay, take home, of about $3,200 per month, may expect only about $1,500 per month if they work until full retirement age.

If they choose to go into retirement at age 62, Social Security benefits will be reduced by 25 percent and by 20 percent, if they work until they are 63. This reduction will be in place regardless of how long Social Security benefits are paid. The only time it will increase is when the government issues cost of living adjustments, which usually are not very high.

To maintain your standard of living through retirement, a minimum of $1,700 will be needed each month, in addition to Social Security benefits just to stay even. You might consider the savings by reducing the expenses by not going to work everyday, but as the cost of living rises on an annual basis, you will want to know that your income has the option of rising with it. How to achieve that additional income is what you need to plan for now, while you are still working. Remember, that income from additional employment after age 62, if you are receiving retirement benefits, will cause your monthly Social Security benefits check to be reduced.

Others may decide not to give up a plum job, continue working through their first years of full retirement, and not receive Social Security benefits at that time. Continuing to work beyond the age of eligibility for full Social Security benefits will be rewarded by an increase in allowable annual benefits. By staying on the job and paying into Social Security for an additional five years, for example, will see the monthly Social Security benefits increase by as much as eight percent per year.

There is no magic time to begin planning for retirement, but everyone should be aware by now that Social Security benefits will not offer enough to live on through their retirement years. At some point, a person has to sit back and look at the big picture, and then break it down into manageable pieces. Consider all available retirement income, Social Security benefits, and retirement fund from your job, 401K or IRA and estimate what the monthly income will be once you become eligible for full Social Security benefits. Estimating what you will most likely need to live on and any difference between the two amounts is the additional amount needed to save before you quit working.

Whether you begin another savings account or add additional money into an existing IRA or 401K-retirement fund is irrelevant. The important thing is to have the money put aside when you will need it the most. Caution should be noted, however that putting pre-tax money into a retirement account will trigger a tax on that amount if it is used prior to full retirement age.