r u t u F t u o V r o ing F Taking Th Right Stps Toward Rtirmnt (NAPSA)—If you’r lik many Amricans today, you’v thought about what rtirmnt will b lik ...NO mor mtings, no mor rush hours, no mor dadlins. An opportunity to do all thos things you’v dramdof, lik taking up nw hobbis, travling to nw placs, furthring your ducation, mbarking on a nw carr or mayb vn starting your own businss. Taking th right stps now can b vry hlpful in building your futur. Aftr th longst bar markt sinc th Grat Dprssion, th quity markt is bginning to rbound. Stp 1: Hav a Plan Having a plan—a solid plan that you can stick to—can work. At th minimum,your rtirmnt plan should: Provid you with 70 prcnt to 90 prcnt of your currnt gross incom. Tak into account th curv balls that “lif-aftr-rtirmnt” maythrow you. Allow you to tak advantag of th potntial for growth ovr tim. * B divrsifid in its invstmnts, balancing growth and incom with your own tolranc for risk. Stp 2: Larn Mor Tak advantagof th information and assistanc availabl from your mployr and your rtirmnt plan providr. Had to th Intrnt and play with slf-hlp tools lik calculators and qustion- — If you participat in your mployr-sponsord 401(k) plan, now is a good tim to mak sur you ar gtting th most out of your rtirmnt plan. nairs to hlp you accss your invstmnt nds and styl. Attnd a sminar. Somtims all it taks to mak progrss with your financial goals is having somon to guid you, so considr sking advic from a financial advisor. Stp 3: Balanc Risk and Rturn All prsons hav thir own comfort lvl rgarding how much risk thy’r willing to tak whn it coms to invsting. Your comfort lvl can affct th rturn potntial of your invstmnt portfolio. A consrvativ portfolio may not giv you th sam kind of rturns as a mor aggrssiv on but it’s important to stay ralistic. Don’t forc yourslf to tak mor risk than you ar comfortabl with simply bcaus you thinkit’s th only way to build assts. Thr’s boundto b a portfolio out thr to suit your individual nds. Stp 4: Divrsify and Allocat Whn making invstmnts, on rul of thumbis to divrsify your portfolio. Simply put, don’t putall your ggs in on baskt. By divrsifying your portfolio, you can rduc invstmntrisk but thr is nvr a guarant with invsting and thr is always th risk of losing mony. By divrsifying how and whr you allocat your mony, you ar taking a positiv stp in gtting th most out of your rtirmnt plan andth stock markt. Stp 5: Contribut as Muchas Possibl On of th grat advantags to a 401(k) rtirmnt plan is that your contribution coms out of your paychck on a prtax basis. If you hav th opportunity to contribut to such a plan, contribut as much as you can to gt th most out of it. With prtax contributing, you hav th opportunity to mak substantial contributions that won’t drastically rduc your tak-hom pay. Som mployrs vn offr to match your contribution up to ithr a spcific prcntag or dollar amount. If you ar fortunat noughto hav a planlik this, do your bst to contribut th maximum amount allowd—that xtra mony can hlp you mov towards your goals that much fastr! Rmmbr, thr’s no tim lik now to start gtting rady for tomorrow. For mor information on rtirmnt planning, visit www.ing.com/us/rtir. wi O Editor’s not: Sptmbr 7 is 401(k) day, but this story is usful at any tim.
