| In years
past, it was often realistic for retirees to base the majority of
their retirement income on Social Security benefits and
traditional employer sponsored pension benefits.
Unfortunately, Social Security
retirement benefits have gradually been reduced in real terms, and
the age one needs to attain in order to qualify for retirement
benefits has been increasing steadily. Given current
retirement trends, these retirement benefits will continue to be
more and more difficult for the government to fund.
In addition, most employers have
moved away from traditional defined benefit plans in favor of
"defined contribution plans" where the employee is often
responsible for funding, investing, and distributing plan
funds.
These and other recent trends have
dramatically increased the need for every individual to have a
sound, long-term investment plan. Your personal
investments may be what makes the difference between relying on a
fixed income provided by others, and a financial independent
retirement.
It is never too early, or too late
to begin saving for retirement.
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