Have you ever found yourself making progress towards your retirement savings goals and then suddenly, you’re not? This happens more often than you think. Whether you can pinpoint the exact moment and reason your progress went off the tracks or it’s a complete mystery to you, finding a way to get your retirement savings back on course is of the upmost importance. Here are five things you can do to get your retirement savings moving in the right direction after a derailment. 1. Number one, reevaluate your reason for saving. Sometimes, we just need a little reminder of why we are saving! Maybe it’s to travel, maybe it’s to spoil your family, or maybe it’s just to make ends meet in retirement and to NOT go back to work. Whatever the reason, a little reminder of your why should help jumpstart your motivation. 2. The second thing you can do is simply save more for retirement. Max out your contributions, if possible, save any raises you receive, use the automatic increase tool, or just log in and boost your retirement savings contributions as much as you can. Making the commitment to increase your savings can be a hard decision, but it's one that will make you feel like you’ve progressed toward your financial goals, and it takes very little effort on your part. To increase your retirement savings contributions, log in to your account by visiting www.modeferredcomp.org or through the ESS Portal or call 800-392-0925. 3. Getting back to the basics is the third thing you can do. By this I mean budgeting and sticking to it. It’s easy for our spending habits to get out of control, so take some time to review your budget, how you’re currently spending your funds, and make the needed changes. I know it sounds easier than it is, but it’s a necessary step to get back on track. 4. The easiest thing you can do is talk to an expert, like MO Deferred Comp’s Financial Education Professionals. Our team has years of experience and knowledge and are located across the state. You can meet with them virtually or in-person and they can help you review and come up with an action plan to reach your goals. From making contribution changes to explaining complex investing topics, they are here to help you. 5. Lastly, it’s good to have a backup plan, such as working a few extra years. This gives you more time to save and less time that your savings has to support you in retirement. In addition, it may allow you to delay claiming your defined benefit pension from MOSERS or MPERS and Social Security benefits. This could boost your monthly retirement benefit checks in the future. Working longer may not be ideal, but if it helps you get back on track and become financially stable in retirement, then it might be worth it.
