15 Signs You Need to Change Your Retirement Savings Plans

If you want to enjoy life after leaving the workforce, you'll need to make sure you have plenty of money to support you. And building a big enough nest egg is going to require planning throughout your lifetime.

Unfortunately, far too many people have no plan at all -- or their plan has problems that could leave them falling short. To make sure this doesn't happen to you, watch for these 15 signs that your retirement savings plans need some tweaking.

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In order to be prepared for a secure retirement, you need to know how big your nest egg must be to produce the desired income. You also need to know if your current savings rate is sufficient to help you amass the necessary funds.

There are a number of ways to estimate how large an investment account balance must be, but the easiest is to multiply your final salary by 10. This gives you an idea of what you'll need saved.

The calculators on Investor.gov can then help you see if the amount you're currently putting aside each month will get you to your target. If they show you're falling short, make changes ASAP so you don't end up with too little to live on.

Retirees need to maintain a safe withdrawal rate to avoid draining their nest egg and running out of money before retirement.

One traditional rule of thumb says you can withdraw 4% of your account balance after first retiring, then adjust to account for inflation each year. And there's some evidence you'll actually need to be more conservative and withdraw even less. That's because people are living longer and projected future returns are lower.

While you may want to explore other withdrawal strategies, one thing is certain. If you're planning to take more than 4% out of your accounts each year to give you enough income to live on, you should rethink your retirement plans ASAP.

ALSO READ: It's Time to Rethink This Popular Retirement Rule

There are many tax-advantaged retirement plans that offer either up-front or deferred tax savings.

If you haven't researched these different plans and chosen the one that's likely to save you the most on your IRS bill, you should go back to the drawing board and reconsider your retirement plan.

It's hard enough to amass the desired nest egg, and there's no reason to leave government subsidies on the table.

Fees can reduce the real returns you get. And when you're investing a lot of money over a long time to build a retirement nest egg, the impact of high investment costs can be shocking.

You don't want to make saving the necessary sum for retirement more difficult than it needs to be, so look for investments with low expense ratios. And make sure you aren't paying trading commissions or administrative fees to your brokerage firm.

The right asset allocation is crucial to building a retirement nest egg. If you're too cautious and don't put enough of your money into equities when you're a younger investor, it will be much more difficult to amass the necessary sum to support yourself as a retiree.

To decide how much to invest in stocks, subtract your age from 110. Or develop a personalized plan based on your individual goals and risk tolerance. Just be sure you aren't so risk adverse that you cost yourself your future financial security.

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Although being too conservative can cost you because you miss out on potential returns, investing too aggressively also comes with huge risks. Specifically, you may lose more money than you can afford to make up.

It's important to make sure you haven't taken on too much risk when saving for retirement since you absolutely need a nest egg to support yourself.

Think carefully before including cryptocurrencies in your retirement plan, avoid day-trading or other high-risk investing strategies, and rebalance your portfolio as you get older to avoid too much exposure to potential loss.

ALSO READ: Should Crypto Be Part of Your Retirement Portfolio?

If your portfolio is too heavily concentrated in any one industry or asset class, then it's time to rethink your retirement plan.

Putting all your eggs in one basket increases the risk of outsize losses that could leave you without the funds you need as a retiree. To avoid this risk, focus on spreading your money around to build a diverse asset mix.

If you aren't sure how to do that, an S&P 500 index fund provides effortless diversification nearly instantly.

If you've changed your plans for when to retire and are hoping to leave the workforce sooner, you need to reconsider your retirement savings plan ASAP.

Retiring earlier gives you less time to save, requires your nest egg to support you for longer, and could lead to a reduced Social Security benefit. You need to be prepared for this by upping your savings efforts considerably.

Social Security benefits are an important income source, but if you're expecting they'll be sufficient to support you, rethinking your retirement plans is crucial.

Your retirement benefits are designed to replace only around 40% of your income when 80% is the minimum most people need to maintain their living standards. Make sure you're being realistic about what Social Security will do when setting your savings goals.

It's very expensive for retirees to get the necessary medical care. In fact, a senior couple could be looking at around $300,000 in out-of-pocket costs over their retirement.

Medicare has coverage gaps and limitations that leave seniors coping with large bills. If you haven't taken these costs into account when determining how much you should invest for your future, you'll need to go back to the drawing board and set new savings goals that will give you enough to get the medical help you need.

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Long-term care is also a major cost many retirees face, with around seven in 10 seniors requiring nursing home care or home care sometime during their lifetime.

Medicare almost never covers long-term care, so your retirement planning process needs to involve making a plan to pay for it. This could involve budgeting for long-term care insurance or saving a substantial sum to pay for nursing services.

Future retirees may be surprised when they see their tax bills in retirement. Depending on where you live and what you earn, you could find yourself being taxed on at least part of both your Social Security and your pension benefits.

And you may also have to pay taxes on withdrawals from retirement plans, depending on whether you've chosen a traditional or Roth account.

Be sure to take taxes into account when setting savings goals and estimating how far your money will stretch. If you haven't factored in your obligations to the IRS when determining what income you'll need as a retiree, make this adjustment to your savings goals sooner rather than later.

ALSO READ: 37 States That Don't Tax Social Security Benefits

Married couples need to be on the same page regarding what their retirement budget will look like, when each partner will retire, and when Social Security benefits should be claimed.

If you made your retirement plans solo without talking to your spouse, now is the time to rectify that.

Many people make the mistake of assuming they'll be able to work well into their 60s before leaving the workforce. Based on this assumption, they may set savings goals that are too low and may plan for more Social Security benefits than they actually end up with.

You don't want a financial shortfall if it turns out that you have to retire early -- which is a fate shared by many. So anticipate retiring at a younger age in case health, family, or employment issues force you out of the workforce sooner than you desire.

By planning for a younger retirement even if you hope to work late in life, you'll ensure you don't end up broke if things don't work out as planned.

Finally, if you're at all worried about whether you'll have financial security in your later years, you should rethink your retirement plans to alleviate these fears.

Retirement should be something you look forward to, not something you're afraid of because of financial concerns. You owe it to yourself to make the sacrifices now that you'll need to live a life of comfort later.

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If you spot any of these signs that changes to your retirement plan are needed, it's best to act quickly.

The sooner you develop and begin following a comprehensive road map to a secure retirement, the better your chances of being able to enjoy your later years with plenty of money in the bank.

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