The folks at Bankrate recently released some upsetting survey results. More than two-thirds of Americans fail to reach their monthly retirement savings goals. More than half actually avoid news or information -- at least occasionally -- about how much they need for retirement. More than a quarter of Americans always tune out.

Think about that. Two-thirds of Americans know they're behind the 8-ball on retirement, and that they're setting themselves up for an uncertain future. Yet many actively look away when faced with guidance on the topic.

Buck that trend, friend! Stare right into the face of this little article! Click on its links! Start by heading to our IRA Center. Soak up the helpful tips. They won't hurt. In fact, they'll help you. A simple IRA can help you grow tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for your future. Traditional IRAs can reduce your taxable income as you divert money into the tax-preferred vehicles. Roth IRAs, meanwhile, offer you tax-free withdrawals in retirement. That's right -- build a $400,000 nest egg in a Roth, and you can tap it all, tax-free.

Don't downplay the power of an IRA. If you effectively invest your money in one, it can grow rather powerfully. Stocks such as Tiffany (NYSE:TIF), General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), Lowe's (NYSE:LOW), and Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), with their average annual returns of more than 15% over the past decade, all show how your retirement money can grow quickly if it's invested in strong performers. If you let $50,000 grow at 15% for just 10 years, it'll become more than $200,000.

I also encourage you to take advantage of a free 30-day trial to our Rule Your Retirement newsletter service. It's prepared by Robert Brokamp, a smart and witty guy who distills what you really need to know into a manageable volume each month. A free trial will give you full access to all past issues, so you can gather lots of valuable tips and even read how some folks have retired early and well. Robert regularly offers recommendations of promising stocks and mutual funds, too.

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