Roth IRA's: Planning for the Future
However, I have a good excuse. For as long as I've been in the investment world, I have witnessed countless, seemingly small mistakes and omissions that people have made that ultimately turn into gigantic, colossal financial disasters. And the worst part is that most of these blunders -- if caught or avoided early on -- can actually result in tremendous opportunities to radically increase your financial stature.
Case in point: not opening and regularly contributing to a retirement plan. The Employee Benefit Research Institute found that just 33.1% of workers, aged 21 to 64, have a 401(k) plan and a mere 23% own an individual retirement account (IRA).
Those figures are absolutely amazing to me, especially in light of the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, that only some 11% -- less than 30,000 -- employers now offer their employees a pension plan. That's down from 112,000 in 1995. To add more salt to that wound, need I remind you that the old, fail-safe Social Security plan is in deep trouble. A recent article in Fortune magazine analyzed the latest Social Security Trustee's Report, concluding that by 2016 or 2017, the plan will be all but bankrupt. Yep, that's just around the corner, so don't count on that monthly stipend for your golden years, either.
Now, I realize I have covered this subject before in Financially Fit. But since our country is beset by severe economic woes, an uncertain election climate, and accelerating, as well as fierce, international competition, I'm going to "nag" you once again, as I believe it is imperative that folks take control of their financial future. And opening and contributing to a retirement account is crucial.
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