Retirement is when a worker leaves the active workforce. Often workers will need to save money to fund their retirement properly.
Retirement
What is retirement?
- Retirement is when a worker leaves the active workforce.
- Workers may receive government assistance to help fund their retirement. However, this rarely covers 100% of their retirement needs.
- Workers should start saving for retirement by contributing to retirement plans or accounts. The earlier they start saving, the more time their retirement funds have to grow.
In the U.S., retirement typically occurs around age 65. Early retirement is considered to start at 62––the minimum age for workers to be eligible for government-funded programs like Social Security.
The goal of retirement is to allow workers to rest after years of working. To achieve this, workers need to save money, so they can be financially secure during retirement. Though the U.S. government provides retirement assistance through Social Security, it rarely replaces 100% of someone's income. If a retiree doesn’t achieve 100% income replacement, he or she may need to change their lifestyle in retirement.
To increase the possibility of meeting a 100% income-replacement goal, workers will often participate in retirement plans that are usually sponsored through their employers, such as a 401(k). They may also save independently through retirement accounts like a Roth IRA. The longer they participate and contribute to these accounts, the more time their savings can grow. By combining savings from these options with Social Security, workers can better fund their retirement years.