Be An Early Bird When It Comes to Retirement Planning - Its Never Too Soon To Start Saving For Retirement

The days of parties and all-nighters will soon be behind the class of 2005. Even though retirement is the last thing on young adults minds, now is actually the best time to start thinking about it. The sooner you start planning, the more money you will have when that far-off retirement arrives.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) June 10, 2005 -- Early retirement planning" really means early- the earlier the better. The US Department of Labor reports that for every 10 years you delay in saving for retirement, youll have to save three times more each month to catch up. Professional retirement planners are advising young adults to begin thinking about their Golden Years as soon as they start their first job out of college.

A single person in their 20s has a considerable amount of disposable income", so if you fall into this demographic, now is a great time to start putting some of it away for when youll really need it.

A young American has at least 3 actions he or she can take now that will pay off when they retire," says retirement planning specialist Steve Carkeek of Retirement-4-U, a retirement planning firm based in San Fransico, CA. First, try to put away at least 10% of your yearly salary into savings- not savings for a new house, not savings for your future childrens college fund, but savings for you to live on when you retire."

Carkeek also recommends that you enroll in your companys 401(k) plan, if it offers one. A 401(k) is a retirement plan that allows you to save a portion of your income, deferring any income taxes on your savings or the interest earned by your savings until the time of the moneys withdrawal. Your taxable income is reduced by the amount of your yearly deposit. Some employers even offer to match a percentage of the money you put into your 401(k). Not starting one is literally like throwing away free money," says Carkeek.

If you dont have a 401(k) plan at work, another wise move in the early retirement planning playbook is an IRA, or Individual Retirement Account. The government treats the money in your IRA differently than the rest of your money. A traditional IRA allows you to save up to $4,000 of your salary each year, fully deductible and tax-deferred until you withdraw your savings from the account. There is also what is known as a Roth IRA, in which your deposits are not tax-exempt, but your interest is. A retirement planner can better explain the difference and help you decide which is best for you.

Young people are starting to understand how important it is to start planning early, especially with the changing workplace and the uncertain state of Social Security. Its not our grandparents world anymore, where you could work for a company for 30 years and get a dependable pension," says 24-year-old Houstonian Daniel DiPaolo. "And Social Security? No one knows whats going on with that. I am just getting used to making car payments and cooking for myself, but I know that planning for the future is really important. I am already thinking ahead, putting money into my 401(k), and I am actually a little nervous that I am still not doing enough."

A professional retirement planner will assist you in taking the correct steps to achieve your retirement goals, every step of the way. Retirement-4-U offers early retirement planning services that take into account complexities such as stock market cycles, inflation data, cost of living index, and more. No on can predict what will happen between age 25 and age 65, but a professional retirement planner like Retirement-4-U can help a person be prepared to adjust their plan at every stage in their life.

Your Golden Years will be here before you know it, and you want them to be truly golden. It is never too early (or too late) to start planning for your retirement. For more information, visit www.Retirement-4-U.com.

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