With the talk of an impending recession, lack of funds for social security and an overall lull in the economy, saving for your retirement is more important than ever. American’s confidence in having enough saved to be able to retire comfortably is dwindling; here are some tips that will have your nest egg ready to hatch your retirement

1. Know yourself and your needs

Everyone wants to live “comfortably” and everyone has a different comfort level, you need to figure out yours, and how much you will need to save to attain that. You will hear experts talk bout taking your salary upon being ready to retire and multiplying it by ten. So if you are making $55k a year, you will want to have $550k in your various retirement funds.

At first thought, it may seem like a big chunk of change to have to save, but remember to account for what you already have saved, the rate your saving, and all the costs involved with retirement.

There are plenty of calculators available online to help you calculate at what rate you should be saving, or where you will end up by saving at your current rate. If you are using a 401(k) you can ask your sponsor to help you figure out a rate of savings that will work for you.

2. Don’t drive yourself crazy

There is no need to change your 401(k) allocations in order to obtain more conservative investments. The market experiences short term moves and downswings all the time, these are completely normal. You do want to however check up on your investments, see what you have and how those investments are doing. You do not want to outlast your money, for this reason, you will always want to have some of your portfolio in the stock market, even as you near retirement, just because you are retired doesn’t mean your investments cant make money.

3. Know about fees you may face

One thing that can kill your ROI is any kind of fee or fees you may encounter. A factor you will want to consider is your expense ratio. This is how much a fund will take out every year to cover fees and expenses. According to experts, the average ratio is about 9/10 of a percent. If you have $100k invested, you’re looking at about 9k in fees.

4. Understand your fund

The government has recently been very critical of 401(k) fees. Last year, meetings were held to discuss whether the fees were to high, or in same case completely hidden. There is currently a bill that calls for more clarity and full disclosure of all fees. Experts say you should not be paying more than a total of 1.5 percent in fees on your retirement investments, keep in mind however; fees are going to be lower on a 401(k) plan than other investments. If you are unsure of what fees you are paying, or why you are paying them, ask your 401(k) sponsor or your HR department to clarify for you.

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