How to Help Clients Catch Up on Retirement Savings: Advisors' Advice

9. Earn More, Spend Less

To play catch-up on saving for retirement, it helps if you can find ways to earn more, spend less or even better a combination of both.

Earning more may simply involve asking your manager for a raise or talking to your boss about career progression and what you can do to earn more. Some people are afraid to approach their superior and have these conversations and may potentially be leaving money on the table.

On the spend side, eliminate high-interest debt as soon as possible either through consolidation (balance transfer credit card with 0% introductory rate) or payment acceleration.

Next, capitalize on the “low-hanging fruits” of personal finance: Are you contributing enough to get the company 401(k) match, are you maxing out your IRA, can you max your 401(k), are you saving money in a brokerage account?

If not, set up automatic transfers each month, much like how 401(k) deductions work, from your checking to max your IRA, Roth IRA, HSA or brokerage account, on top of contributing enough in your company 401(k) plan to earn 100% of their match.

If you’re able to save more, dump it into the 401(k) and look to see if your plan offers after-tax contributions and in-plan Roth conversions as that would allow you to save even more for retirement via a mega backdoor Roth.

The savings goals take precedence over other standard budgetary items like discretionary spend, entertainment, etc., as by prioritizing saving, you’re automatically reducing spend in other areas.

— Eric Presogna, owner, CEO, One-Up Financial