in Stay On Track: ging Today’s Reality While Building For Tomorrow (NAPSA)—People just aren’t sure how to make the most of their retirement plans and may be tempted to move money around, stop saving altogether or ignore how their investments are performing because they’re afraid they'll only see declines in their account values. Although retirement may seem far off for some, it’s important to stay on track and continue saving to make sure you won't outlive your income and can maintain the lifestyle you want in your retirement years. “For many working Americans, the only way they haveto save for retirement is through their employer-sponsored retirement plan,” said Chuck Cornelio, presi- dent of Defined Contribution for short-term marketvolatility influ- ence your long-term retirement- planning decisions. Remember, the economy will have ups and downs aspart of the natural cycle of investing and should not influence your participation in a retirement plan. You may be tempted to discontinue your contributions, even temporarily, and wait for the marketto fully recover. One of the smartest ways for you to achieve the best results is to stay invested in your plan and keep making those regular contributions through payroll deductions. 3. Increase your contribu- tions—Many employers match your contributions up to a certain percentage. Learn more about Lincoln Financial Group. “Many people are focused on rebuilding your match and make sure you're contributing enough to take full advantage of any company match. losses they’ve experienced. moneyon the table. their savings and recovering any “Just like your annual physi- cal, we recommend you meet with your retirement consultant or financial adviser once a year to do an annual checkup of yourretirement plan,” said Cornelio. “An easy way to rememberis to sched- ule it around your birthday or an annual pay raise. A retirement plan checkup will help you make If you don’t, you’re just leaving 4, Consolidate your assets— Havingall your retirement assets in one place helps simplify retirement investing and incomeplan- ning. So if you still have retire- ment funds at previous employers, consider rolling those balances into your current company’s retirement plan. 5. Avoid temptations to bor- sure your investments are matched with your risk tolerance row against your plan—Many with your overall retirement goals.” down market. By doingthis, savers may miss out on potential returns if the market recovers. In addition, borrowing from your plan may mean you can miss out on the abil- while helping you stay on track Here’s a helpful Retirement Plan Checkup Checklist with the top five things you can do today to help yourself achieve your retirement-fundinggoals: 1. If you’re not enrolled, enroll today—Your employer- people may be tempted to borrow against their retirement plan in a ity for your money to grow from now until the time youretire. If you are enrolled in your com- significant part of your total com- pany’s retirement plan, remember to stay on track andfollow the tips mentioned above. If you stay a valuable benefit. When you par- your contributions consistently, sponsored retirement plan is a pensation package at work and is ticipate, you reduce your taxable income today while building retirement savings for tomorrow. 2. Stay invested—Don’t let invested and continue to increase you're more likely to enjoy the retirementlifestyle youre planning for. For more information, please visit www.lincolnfinancial.com.
