Needless to say, planning for retirement is no easy task. Life is expensive as is. Forming a plan or trying to figure out how retirement will look can be difficult as well, especially when a person is still in their 20s and 30s and may still be figuring out many aspects of their life.
While falling behind or not remembering to save can be daunting as one gets older, don't panic! There is always still time to turn things around and right the ship. If you are late to retirement planning, here are three strategies to help you catch up.
1. Form a plan
This step can feel the most daunting, but it is also the least expensive step when it comes to catching up on retirement savings. If you have been putting saving off for years or even decades, it is time to sit down and form a plan.
This involves determining what retirement will look like, how much it will cost, and how you will achieve these savings. The first part involves looking ahead to the future and considering what you want out of retirement. Do you want to travel? Or buy a vacation home? Are you content with your current lifestyle? Perhaps you want to live more modestly than you currently live, allowing you to retire earlier.
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Either way, answering these questions will be key to determining how much to save. One does not need to come up with exact estimates for how much to save for retirement. The goal should be to estimate potential retirement expenses and then apply a rate of inflation over future years. It may also be a good idea to aim to save more than you actually need. You will never regret saving too much money for retirement.
This process may also involve working with a financial planner or a friend with strong financial acumen to determine how much you should set aside and where to invest it.
2. Set aside as much as possible for 401(k) and IRA contributions
After you have a plan, the next easy thing you can do is to put as much money as possible in tax-advantaged retirement accounts.
If you work for an employer with a 401(k) plan, this likely means contributing a portion of each paycheck to the employer's retirement plan. Many employers also offer a matching amount to an employee's retirement contributions, typically a small percentage for each contribution. Take advantage of these, because it is essentially free money that is also tax-deferred.
In 2026, the maximum annual 401(k) contribution limit is $24,500 per employee and $72,000 for the combined employee-employer contribution. Obviously, there are limits to how much one can contribute, but if you can get anywhere close to this amount, you will build savings quickly. Additionally, once workers hit age 50, they are eligible for a catch-up contribution of at least an additional $8,000.
For those who either don't have a 401(k) or want to supplement one, there are individual retirement accounts (IRAs). In 2026, the tax-deferred annual IRA contribution limit is $7,500. Once you reach the age of 50, there is an additional catch-up contribution of $1,100 that people can take advantage of as well.
3. Save more aggressively -- and invest
If you want to catch up on your retirement savings, the goal should be to save as aggressively as you can, and then invest that money.
Now, just because you are playing catch-up, that doesn't mean you have to invest aggressively in high-beta growth stocks, cryptocurrencies, and meme stocks. That's right, you can still catch up by investing more conservatively. Again, this is the part where a financial advisor or friend with strong financial acumen will come in handy.
But the key is to consistently save and invest a certain amount of money each year. For instance, let's say you just turned 50 and haven't saved a penny for retirement. You start with initial savings of $5,000 and invest that amount in the broader benchmark S&P 500 index. Then, you set aside $500 each month to add to your savings and invest, or $6,000 per year. We'll assume a 10% annual gain on your investment, which is the historical average annual return for the S&P 500.
Doing this for 15 years would grow your retirement savings to over $211,000. Your retirement savings goal may be above or below this amount, but the example illustrates how much wealth one can accumulate by setting aside a portion of their income each month and investing it prudently.
