If we are all lucky enough to see the day in which we officially retire, it is absolutely crucial that we have done our planning in advance so that we are in the position to retire without major financial headaches to contend with. Everybody is different and only you yourself knows what type of lifestyle you will wish to lead once retired. With this in mind, you should be able to focus on a plan which will help to comfortably fund that lifestyle.

Your preference upon retirement may be to travel the world in style, go on a long cruise, or take several foreign vacations each year. Who could blame you? You have worked hard all your life, so why not spoil yourself a little as a reward?

Or your preference might be to stay around home most of the time and hopefully do up the house – perhaps build that sunroom at the back you’ve always wanted. Obviously, everybody’s needs will be very different, but there is no getting away from the fact that you will have to have money in the bank in order to fulfil your dreams.

It saddens me when I think of the statistic produced by the SSA (Social Security Administration) which states that 95% of the population will not have enough money to retire on. This seems a little on the high side to me, but wouldn’t you rather make sure that you are one of the 5% who IS able to retire in comfort?!

The question has to be asked “Why are so many people running the risk of retiring virtually empty handed?”

The simple answer is that the vast majority of the working population today do not take the time to sit down and PLAN for their retirement. They seem to live for the present and hope that the future will take care of itself. Even if they have an idea in their minds as to how they would like to spend their time in retirement, they have never been bothered to do something about it i.e put a retirement plan in place.

A very practical step you can take is to follow the 10% plan. This simply involves putting away 10% of your take home pay each month into an account which will give you a steady return in terms of interest. Many very wealthy people have used a simple strategy like this and the process of compounding to amass huge fortunes in today's world.

Unfortunately, most people get so caught up with their everyday expenses such as their mortgage payments, car payments, and other debt, that they forget about putting any money away for their retirement planning. Once they reach retirement, they don't have nearly enough money to meet their retirement objectives. I would imagine that most people could easily set aside 10% per month instead of letting it lie in a low interest check account.

By doing some simple planning, regardless if you are still only in your twenties or thirties, and investing in the right places after careful research, you will have enough money to live the kind of lifestyle you want to live when you reach retirement age. Don't be fooled into thinking this is something to worry about only in your fifties. The sooner you start to plan the better. And even if you are in your fifties or sixties and haven’t planned sufficiently, don’t despair. You will still gain a lot of benefit by contacting a financial advisor and putting what savings you have into accounts tailored to your requirements.