Lesson 8: Conclusion

We hope this course has helped you feel more prepared to start saving and planning for retirement. Whether your dream retirement looks like a condo on a beach, an RV trip across the country, or something else entirely, hopefully you now have a better idea of the steps you need to take to make that dream a reality.

Key takeaways:

1. Retirement is an enormous goal. That’s why it’s important to start saving however much you can as soon as you can.
2. Putting your savings into a 401(k), IRA, or other dedicated retirement account lets you benefit from the tax breaks these accounts offer.
3. Save as much as you reasonably can with an aim of ultimately putting away 15% of your pretax salary each year.
4. When you’re young, you should typically invest most of your retirement savings in stocks. As you near retirement, you’ll want to invest more in bonds.
5. You may need to overhaul your investments once you reach retirement in order to start taking withdrawals from your portfolio.
6. Although you bear most of the responsibility for setting yourself up for a secure retirement, the federal government provides additional safety nets for retirees through Social Security and Medicare.
7. Your estate plan is the collection of documents that sets out your wishes for how your affairs should be handled after you die. It can help you pass money or investments on to heirs and make sure your dependents will be taken care of.