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Start Saving For Retirement Early With Tips From Charles Schwab

STUDIO CITY (CBSLA.com) — It's never too early to start saving for retirement!

Vice President Financial Consultant of Charles Schwab, Casey Mervine, visited the KCAL9 studios Friday to share tips for people who are catching up on their retirement savings and a workshop called "Getting Retirement Ready".

The workshop is open to the public on Saturday, April 6, at 10:00 a.m. at the Charles Schwab Torrance branch. Los Angeles investors can come to get tangible steps for creating a retirement budget, important information about Social Security, and smart portfolio management tips. To RSVP for that or other area workshops, please visit www.schwab.com/workshops or call 1-800-750-9539. You can also go online to www.schwab.com/planning for retirement planning insights and tools.

A few tips for those catching up on retirement savings:

• Try to max out your 401(k) contributions. In many plans, an employer will agree to match the funds you contribute up to a certain amount. When you think about it, that match is virtually "free" money. You should always contribute enough to your 401(k) to capture the match. If you're age 50 or older, make catch-up contributions.

• Spend less and save more now. It's as simple as it is unpopular. Create a budget and put your expenses under the microscope. Earmark your next raise and/or bonus for retirement savings. You also may be able to consolidate loan balances into lower-cost, and potentially tax-deductible, forms of debt. It's important to take into account future expenses in retirement like healthcare, as well, and save with those in mind. In fact, nearly half (48 percent) of the respondents in the Los Angeles area say their primary concern in retirement is incurring unexpected expenses like medical or healthcare costs.

• Plan on spending less in retirement. According to our survey, Los Angeles residents say they'll need an average around $65,000 in income annually, a considerable drop from their current average annual income in excess of $110,000. But we suggest you plan to need as much in retirement as when you were working, but you might be able to get by with less—especially if your mortgage is paid off, the kids don't move back in and you don't face dramatically increased medical costs.

• Many people are also choosing to continue working in their golden years to pursue a passion, stay busy or bring in additional income. Over one-third of the respondents (36 percent) from our survey say they may work in retirement, at least part-time, even though they would expect to have enough money to live without working.

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