Retirement might seem like a far off dream or a very soon reality depending on your situation. It’s a chance to put aside having to work to survive and instead simply enjoy your time, pursue your hobbies and spend time with loved ones.

Retiring is not an easy thing though. Most people spend their entire lives preparing and saving for it. Some are able to save up enough to make their goal a reality, while others fall short or run into complications. If retirement is something you are looking forward to soon or far in the future, here are some tips to make it happen.

1. Know Your Budget for Retirement

Pick an age you want to require by, typically 65, then look at your life expectancy for your age, race, and gender. The difference between your life expectancy and when you want to retire is how many years you need to have saved up in your retirement accounts.

Now, you need to know how much your expenses will be in retirement. Will you have to make mortgage or rent payments? How much will you spend on groceries weekly? Will you have auto payments and insurance? Do you want to travel in retirement? These are all expenses you’ll need to estimate for.

Once you have an idea of how much it will cost per month for you to live in retirement, and your approximate life expectancy, put those numbers together to know how much you’ll need saved as a minimum.

2. Be On Track to Retire

Are you regularly contributing to your retirement savings? Whether it’s a 401(k) through an employer or a personal IRA, you should be adding to it regularly in order to reach your retirement goal.

Your retirement savings will grow through two methods: regular contributions from you and natural interest growth that comes from investments. You should chart out what your current contributions and interest growth rate is, and see if following your current growth will reach your retirement goal. If not, you might need to adjust your retirement budget or increase the amount you contribute.

3. What Will You Do in Retirement?

The idea of doing nothing after 40+ years of work might seem appealing, but you’ll get bored quick. Your golden years are for doing what makes you happy. Whether that’s pursuing a hobby, spending time with family, seeing the world, or providing service for others, find things to keep you busy. Not only will this help you stay happy, you’ll be active and healthier.

Whatever you pursue doing retirement, make sure you have the means to do it. Some activities can get expensive, like vacations or certain hobbies. Be sure to plan extra in your budget for what will be keeping you busy.

4. Retire in Stages

If you’ve spent a majority of your life working, transitioning into retirement might be difficult. Your routine will feel off, you could feel like you are being lazy, or you might just be bored and start annoying your loved ones.

A smart choice is to retire in stages to ease your way in. If you have a lot of vacation time saved up, start taking regular time off. Maybe every other friday or one week every month, stay home. If your work allows it, maybe you can go to a part time schedule for a bit. Find a way to take it slow and in stages so you don’t overwhelm yourself when it’s time to leave work behind.

5. Deposit More Early On To Retire Earlier

The more you deposit early on in your working career, the longer you’ll have for it to grow. If you want to retire early or have a very comfortable retirement, you should consider putting more of your paycheck into retirement early in your career. This can give you more time for the money to grow.

If your current job doesn’t offer a 401(k), open up an IRA and start saving on your own. You could even direct deposit a portion of your paycheck to it or set up a regular transfer from your account to it. Whatever you can afford, save it in your retirement fund for the future.

6. Have an Emergency Fund Available

Even in retirement, emergencies can happen. With a fixed income, you should have extra funds at your disposal in case the worst happens. Planning your retirement budget, have some wiggle room with money you can put aside into a rainy day or emergency fund. That way, if something big comes your way, you can pay it off with no fears. Pioneer's Special Purpose Savings account is perfect for emergency funds or anything specific you want to save up for!

7. Contributing More Now Means More Money Later

Whether you have your own IRA or an employer 401(k), the more you can contribute now, the better off you’ll be later. The max you can contribute to a 401(k) yearly is $19,500 and the most you can put in an IRA is $6,000 a year. If you have the means right now, contributing more money can mean having more resources when you do retire. Whether you're a few years away from retirement or a few decades, contributing more is something to consider. Just be aware that if you go over the contribution limits on your retirement accounts, it won’t be tax deductible.

If you want to start contributing today to an account, open up an IRA with Pioneer today!

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