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Counting the Ways to Save for Retirement

Employees share how financial decisions today can impact retirement years

The good news: 68 percent of U.S. millennials are saving or investing for retirement.

The bad news: their retirement savings strategies are not well formed.

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On the other end of the age demographic, 60 percent of retirees stopped working sooner than planned and are living longer, bringing opportunities for active living. However, relatively few retirees and workers age 50 and over feel they have enough money to last through a longer retirement.

“Because of the impact of money compounding over time, starting early gives you your best chance at meeting retirement-saving goals,” said Sylvester Hackney, associate director for Duke Benefits. “It’s also important to make sure you have a diverse investment portfolio, increase your contribution each year and periodically meet with one of the investment advisers to review whether you’re on track.”

During Financial Fitness Week, Duke employees share steps they’re taking to ensure they’ll lead a financially comfortable life in retirement, and retirement experts weigh in.

 

Jacquelyn Tubbs, left, meets with Salm Evans, a retirement planning consultant with Vanguard. “I came in with a notepad and pencil and thought, ‘Let’s just get serious. Get the advice and then you can make better-informed decisions.’ When I left that meeting, I kept thinking to myself, I could have done this three years ago. I really started thinking about how much money I would have gained if I got this information three years ago. It definitely made me much more comfortable about seeking more advice.”

Jacquelyn Tubbs, 35 • Staff veterinarian, Division of Laboratory Animal Resources • 4 years at Duke--

“It’s wise for anybody starting out, as soon as they can afford it, to start putting money away, and it doesn’t matter if it’s $10 a month or $50 a month, whatever you can afford.  As you get to making more money, try to go up and save a little more. The way I look at it is every little bit’s going to help you. Don’t think you’ve got the rest of your life, you’ve got 40 years before you retire, because it will fly by.”

Todd Wood, 51 • Operating Room resource materials supervisor, Duke Regional Hospital • 23 years at Duke--

Create a Solid Budget. These are recommended percentages of a monthly budget based on take-home (net) income, provided by Duke investment carrier TIAA and financial author Dave Ramsey. TIAA recommends that at least 20 percent of an employee’s monthly take-home income should go toward savings and paying down debt. This includes saving for retirement.--

Reduce expenses. Eliminate one latte per week and save $130 a year, according to VALIC, a Duke investment carrier.--

The average U.S. household with debt carries $15,762 in credit card debt and $130,922 in total debt. Charge only what you can afford to pay off on a monthly basis; limit the number of cards you get, and negotiate terms and rates.--

Cackie Joyner meets with her daughter, Mimi, who is a registered nurse at Duke Hospital. “I’m real impressed because my daughter just started as a nurse three years ago at Duke. The first thing she did was put money aside in the 403(b) plan at Duke. I’m like, ‘good for you. You should put your retirement first, because I didn’t start saving until I was 40.’ I’m really proud of her.”

Cackie Joyner, 66 • Education and training coordinator, Occupational & Environmental Safety Office • 26 years at Duke--

“Right now, my wife and I are trying to be really aggressive in paying off debts. I think credit cards are just an easy snare. They’re a good fallback if you don’t have a savings built up, but be really disciplined on what purchases you can place on it and then try to pay it off as quickly as possible. My wife has been asking me to get a Fitbit with her. So we started pricing it out, but what I really need to do is take that $100 and apply it toward credit card debt. That’s not what my gut wants to do, but five years from now, if I’m still in that debt, I’m going to still be angry at myself.”

Jeremy Elmore, 28 • Assistant manager for Conference and Event Services, University Center Activities & Events • 3 years at Duke--

Enroll in a retirement account and set up a free information session with one of Duke’s investment carriers, Fidelity, TIAA, VALIC or Vanguard.--

Antonio Luster with his wife, Mica, who is a patient account associate at Duke. “My wife is also a Duke employee. If we hang in there together, we both should be OK in retirement. In addition to the garden-variety household budget discussions, a retirement conversation is sparked whenever our financial statements come in the mail. We probably have an in-depth discussion about retirement at least once a quarter or more, just to kind of think about the next 10 years or 20 years. We both love to picture the day when we will be able to walk off into the sunset and enjoy retirement.”

Antonio Luster, 40 • Bus driver, Duke Parking & Transportation • 7 years at Duke--

 

Make saving for an emergency fund a monthly priority. Set aside three to six months of living expenses to create an ideal emergency fund, says investment carrier Fidelity.--

Information from NerdWallet, the Insured Retirement Institute, The Center for Generational Kinetics, and the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies was used in this report.