America Saves Week is Feb. 22-26. Are you Saving Enough for Retirement?

Published on February 25, 2021

America Saves Week is an annual event, and a call for Americans to commit to saving successfully—as individuals and families, for reducing debt and for retirement, to have something for emergencies, and to create the habit of saving automatically. According to its website, America Saves encourages us all to set goals and make a plan to achieve better financial stability. The week’s daily focus changes; yesterday, Wednesday, February 24th was “save to retire.” We like that!

It’s no secret that most Americans need better overall financial habits, especially when it comes to saving for retirement. Between the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been tough for many people to stay on track (or get back on it) with their retirement savings. Moreover, the pandemic has led to many people retiring before they had planned to do so, for various reasons. However, there’s an interesting flip side to this issue: for some retirees or those nearing retirement, they are opting to work longer, even part-time, because they find working remotely to be a viable option or they are waiting for more of the economy  to rebound. With nowhere to go, they might as well still work.

Whether you aren’t on Medicare yet and can still contribute to an HSA (which you can use later on for non-medical expenses without penalty), or you’re still contributing to your workplace retirement plan or your IRA, America Saves Week is the perfect time to educate yourself about wealth building..

Investing those funds through a self-directed IRA could get you to your retirement goals sooner.

Saving and Investing with a Self-Directed IRA

Self-directed retirement plans come in all types, with the same tax advantages as their traditional counterparts. However, unlike typical retirement plans, you are not limited to stocks, bonds, and mutual funds when you self-direct your investments. Instead, you can include a wide range of alternative assets—ones you may already be investing in outside of your existing retirement plan—and build a more diverse portfolio based on what you know and understand.

You can self-direct a Traditional or Roth IRA, a SEP IRA or SIMPLE IRA – as well as a health savings account or education savings account. If you are a small-business owner or sole proprietor with no common law employees, you may also open a Solo 401(k).

When you self-direct your investments, you can include alternative assets such as real estate, private equity, precious metals, notes/loans, impact investments, cryptocurrency (and more) and take advantage of diverse investment opportunities. As with all self-directed investing, you as the investor conduct your full due diligence on the alternative assets you wish to include, all income and expenses related to the assets flow through the retirement plan, and you must avoid prohibited transactions.

Post-retirement contributions

As you may know, the SECURE Act has made it possible for you to continue contributing to a Traditional IRA after you’ve retired, as long as you have earned income (similar to a Roth IRA). To continue contributing to a Roth IRA, you must also meet certain income criteria as set by the IRS. That is good news when it comes to saving for retirement.

Here’s more good news: the professionals at Next Generation are here to help you understand the many options and benefits of self-direction as a retirement wealth-building strategy. You may schedule a complimentary education session to get answers to your questions and learn more about getting started—whether you’re many years away from retiring, in your mid-level career, or wish to change the way you’ve been investing your retirement savings. You can also contact the Next Generation team by phone at 888.857.8058 or email at NewAccounts@NextGenerationTrust.com.