5 Ways Baby Boomers Can Grow and Protect a Retirement Plan

As a woman over the age of 50, you are probably concerned about how to properly prepare for your golden years. While you might have a 401K plan through your employer and have a reasonable idea of what your Social Security benefits might be, you are definitely smart to think beyond the basics and take charge of your financial future. To help make sure that your retirement is as financially comfortable and stress-free as possible, consider these tips:

Have Clear Goals in Mind

How you cultivate a retirement plan will depend a lot on how you envision spending your time after you stop working. If you have always dreamed of traveling the world, you’ll need to find more capital to fuel this goal; whereas if you would love to volunteer at your grandchildren’s school and work on your various hobbies, you may be able to retire on much less than you realize. The good news is that many expenses decline or go away completely when you retire, including contributions to retirement plans, work expenses, commuting expenses like gas and bus passes and pricey new wardrobes.

Try to Pay Off Your Mortgage

One of the best ways to enter your golden years with a golden nest egg that will sustain you over time is to pay off that pesky mortgage. Owning your home free and clear will give your retirement budget a massive boost. Even if you still have a long time to go on your mortgage, you can definitely take steps now to pay it off quickly. For example, as PBS notes, if you have 25 years to go on a $200,000 mortgage, adding $200 more per month on top of your regular payment will shorten the life of the loan by 10 years.

Start Saving

If you already have a retirement savings account in place, give yourself a pat on the back and stick with it. If you don’t have one, it’s time to head to the bank and set one up. Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to save a huge amount of money at first; start out with small goals and strive to increase your savings each month. Make saving a game—every time you decide not to eat out or grab a pricey drink from Starbucks, put those dollars into the retirement savings account and watch as the balance grows.

Introduce Yourself to IRA

As the Department of Labor notes, you can put up to $5,500 a year into an Individual Retirement Account, or IRA, and if you are already over 50, you can contribute more than that. If that amount seems too high don’t worry, IRAs also start out much lower, and they provide you with tax advantages. To make it as easy as possible to grow your IRA accounts, you can arrange for your account to automatically deduct money from your checking or savings account and be directly deposited.

Be Proactive About Your Accounts

As you start opening more accounts and actively saving for retirement, take the time to carefully look over each monthly account statement, looking for possible fraudulent activity. The last thing you want is for your growing nest egg to be shattered by nefarious crooks who steal your identity. Consider investing in a identity protection program through a company like LifeLock. Check out the articles on the company’s website about how to prevent identity theft from occurring, and how to recover from it if the worst should happen.