Are Your Retirement Savings on Track?

Alejandro Martinez learned the importance of saving for retirement from his grandfather.His grandfather, who emigrated from Cuba in the late 1960s, owns his own auto repair shop, “Duplex,” in Miami. Even though he retired in his 70s, he still chooses to work in his shop as a mechanic at 80 years old.“Seeing my grandparents work so hard, I just always wanted to ensure that when I’m their age, I don’t have to work as hard as they do,” said Martinez, 31, an assistant director in Duke’s Office of Research Support. “I don’t want to have to worry in the future.”Martinez recently signed up to attend a financial workshop during Duke’s Financial Fitness Week May 18 to 21, when he and other employees can learn whether they’re on track with their retirement savings. Registration is now open for workshops about creating a solid retirement plan, building a budget, managing cash, understanding investments, ditching debt and more. Duke’s retirement vendors will be available to answer questions and schedule one-on-one appointments.“Hopefully, just talking about retirement spurs something in you to start making preparations about your financial future,” said Percy Hill III, a Duke financial analyst. “This gives you a good gauge of where you’re at, how much more you may need to save, or if you’re on target.”The week’s lineup includes workshops aimed at employees in varying age generations, from 20s to 70s. Here are some highlights:

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Employees who aren’t currently contributing to their Duke retirement plan are encouraged to sign up for the “Getting on the Right Path with your Workplace Savings Plan” online webinar on May 18. Employees will learn about Duke’s 403(b) retirement plan, pension plan for biweekly employees, and how to create a budget. Currently, 51 percent of Duke's eligible workforce is making a voluntary individual contribution to a Duke retirement savings plan.“It’s wonderful that Duke offers a retirement benefit, but we too have to take responsibility for our future,” said Shameka Whitted with Duke Benefits. “By making your own contributions, you can help strengthen your income sources in retirement.”Millennials: Make saving a priorityWhen employees age 35 or younger talk to Levi Wiget about creating and prioritizing a budget, they have to balance savings with other life goals, such as buying a car or house, having children, or obtaining a college degree.Wiget, a regional planning consultant with Fidelity, one of Duke’s retirement vendors, is leading the “Millennials: Ditch the Debt and Start Saving” workshop on May 19. “The first five to 10 years of their career is the most important part of saving for the rest of their life,” Wiget said. “They’re out of school, they’re younger and retirement’s not on their mind because they think it’s so far away.”Mid-career? How to save and spendMark Nachimson said he regularly meets clients in their 50s who are just starting to plan for retirement and want to contribute to a retirement account for the first time. “Once you hit 50, there’s a light switch, and people start to realize they’re a whole lot closer to retirement than away from retirement,” said Nachimson, a senior financial adviser and certified financial planner with VALIC, one of Duke’s retirement vendors.Nachimson is presenting Financial Fitness Week’s “Cash Management: How to Save and Spend” workshop for mid-career employees, age 36 to 54, on May 21. Nearing one’s retirement yearsThe “Retirement Planning Workshop” on May 20 will be geared toward employees age 55 and older. Bill Phillips, manager of Duke Benefit Services, will help lead the discussion, which will cover topics such as Social Security benefits and estate planning. He suggests that employees who sign up to attend the workshop create a preliminary retirement budget and examine costs that may arise, such as caregiving costs, mortgage payments and children’s college payments.WATCH: Two Duke employees – Megan Houpe, 27, and William R. Hester, 70 – share their retirement savings lessons and dreams.