10 Retirement Savings Hacks You're Missing Out On

A new year has a way of drawing people's attention to their finances, especially their retirement savings. The first of January resets your annual retirement contributions to zero again, and you have the whole year to fill your accounts with savings for your future.

If you'd like to step up your retirement savings in 2022, here are 10 tips you should try.

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Automating your savings takes the responsibility of manually making contributions off your plate. All you have to do is decide how much you'd like to contribute to your retirement account every month or pay period.

With a 401(k), your employer will automatically withhold this amount from each paycheck. With an IRA, you may have to link a bank account and set up a transfer schedule. In either case, you are free to change your contribution amount at any point.

If you've gotten a raise recently, consider putting that extra money into your retirement account rather than spending it. Or, if you aren't comfortable locking all of your raise up until retirement, you could put half of it in retirement savings and spend the other half.

Many Americans can expect a tax refund this year, and those can be pretty substantial. Rather than spending this money, stash it in an IRA. Adults under 50 are allowed to contribute up to $6,000 to an IRA in 2022, and a tax refund could go a long way toward this.

But if you're not comfortable giving up all of that money, you could agree to just put half of it in retirement savings instead.

ALSO READ: 4 Tricks to Get Your Tax Refund Faster

Single-income households can benefit from opening a spousal IRA. This is a regular IRA opened on behalf of the stay-at-home spouse that the working spouse contributes to. The working spouse must earn enough money throughout the year to cover contributions to their own IRA as well as the spousal IRA.

This is a simple way for a couple to save even more tax-advantaged funds for retirement. But you should know that the spousal IRA funds belong to the person whose name is on the account, even if the couple later divorces.

Adults 50 and older are eligible to make catch-up contributions to retirement accounts. They can contribute an extra $6,500 to a 401(k) in 2022, bringing their annual contribution limit to $27,000. They can also contribute up to $7,000 to an IRA this year -- $1,000 more than adults under 50 can contribute.

You don't have to do anything special to take advantage of catch-up contributions. As long as you'll turn 50 or older at some point during 2022, you're free to contribute this extra money to your retirement accounts.

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A health savings account (HSA) was originally intended to hold money for medical savings, but it's also a great retirement account. Contributions to an HSA reduce your taxable income for the year, and medical withdrawals are tax free at any age. You can also make nonmedical withdrawals, though you'll owe taxes on these, plus a 20% penalty if you're under 65.

Individuals with a health insurance plan with a deductible of $1,400 or more can contribute up to $3,650 to an HSA in 2022. Families with an insurance plan that has a deductible of $2,800 or more may contribute up to $7,300 in 2022. Make sure you choose an HSA provider that enables you to invest your funds so they can grow more quickly.

ALSO READ: 2022 Rules for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)

Those with side hustles can also use self-employed retirement accounts to put away money for their future. There are several of these accounts out there, so you can choose the one that makes the most sense for you.

You're only able to contribute up to the lesser of $61,000 or 25% of your net self-employment income to a self-employed retirement account in 2022. If you stash your funds in a tax-deferred account, you won't have to worry about paying any taxes on income earned from your side hustle this year.

Keeping your fees down can help your retirement savings grow more quickly. Index funds are some of the best low-cost investment options out there, so they're worth considering if you haven't taken advantage of one already.

Index funds mimic the performance of a market index, like the S&P 500, so they diversify your money among many different stocks. They also have low expense ratios -- the annual fees shareholders pay. In some cases, you pay as little as 0.03%, or about $3 annually for every $10,000 you have invested in the fund.

Sometimes, finding more money for retirement savings is as simple as checking your budget for areas of overspending. Look for old subscriptions you're not using or areas where you could cut back spending, like dining in more often instead of eating out.

If it helps, use a budgeting app or spreadsheet to help you track where your money is going every month. Many budgeting apps can help you set savings goals as well.

If you have credit card debt, paying this off should be your top priority, even before retirement savings. The high interest rates these cards charge will cost you more in a year than what you'd make through most investments. You can knock out this debt using a balance transfer card or a personal loan.

Once it's paid off, take all the money you were putting toward debt repayment and toss it in an IRA or other retirement account.

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Hopefully, you've picked up a few tips you can try to boost your retirement savings this year, but don't stop there. See if you can brainstorm additional ways to save some extra cash. And don't forget to check up on your progress.

Schedule check-ins with yourself every few months to see how you're doing and make adjustments to your savings strategy as needed.

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