Love and Money:
You could probably live with a bit less of both but more is usually better when it comes to your personal and financial future!
Happier Retirement through Employer Matches
Over the years, dating apps have made it easier and easier to meet new people with similar interests but there’s no guarantee that you’ll find the love of your life by swiping right. On the other hand (HA!), there is a match made in financial heaven that can help bring you the love that you are looking for. This comes in the form of financial love. A love you shouldn’t hesitate to swipe right for. A happy retirement filled with financial peace and security.
This match that I speak of is the retirement investment match that many employers offer as part of their employment package:
401k
403b
457
Roth 401k
among others…
To those of you who are new to the world of employment or haven’t explored retirement funds, employee retirement plans differ from company to company. Many companies that do offer retirement accounts have what are referred to as Employer Matches. This is where the employer matches a certain amount of your contributions to your retirement fund. Essentially, this is FREE MONEY!! If you aren’t reaching the match that they set, you are throwing away this free money.
How Employer Matches work:
So let’s say the employer matched 5% of your contributions and you want to put 10% in your designated plan every pay check (this is done automatically after you set it up). With their contribution plus yours, you end up with 15% of your salary in your retirement plan every single pay period. If you only put in 3%, then you only get a total of 6% in this example. Some companies have a set amount (not just a match) that they give every employee and some careers and companies have pensions. Please take the time to ask about these as it’s your future at stake and staying quiet hurts no one except you!
Easy Digital Access
Most financial planning companies are now very tech savvy and rarely are you locked into the amount of your contribution. For example, I could get on my 403b retirement app tonight and change my percentage contribution. Then I could change it again tomorrow. While I don’t advise this, most plans have cut off dates for each pay cycle. It is generally your prerogative (to do what you wanna do). 😬
Every employer has their own way of running retirement funds, so please ask questions! Write them down and don’t be afraid of sounding dumb. This is your money and your future at stake here and you want to contribute with confidence.
Ask lots of questions
Some questions you will want to ask is: *Do my contributions reduce my taxable income? *What are the fees associated with investing? *What is my employer match? *How long do I have to work with the company before I’m vested? (This means when am I guaranteed the match value in my retirement accounts.) *How do I change my contribution and how often can I do it?
Saving for retirement is a win-win situation. It’s especially a huge WIN when you are taking advantage of FREE money!
Invest in yourself! Invest in your future!
Take every dime of the FREE Match that your employer is offering you. Never hesitate to sit down and talk to the brokerage firm that your employer is working with. Ask questions and request that they dumb-down the whole investing process to make sure that you know what you’re doing and feel comfortable with it. But most of all, make sure they explain what your company’s freebies are and GET YOUR MATCH! Swiping right has never felt so good, and your future self will LOVE you for it! 💛