• last month
Retirement expert Bob Powell joined TheStreet to discuss some common misconceptions about saving for the future.
Transcript
00:00So you've been writing about this industry for a long time.
00:03What are some of the most common myths that you hear about retirement?
00:09Well, I think, you know, one myth is, especially for people in their 20s, they think, oh, it's 40
00:14years away. I can wait. You know, that's a myth. They shouldn't wait. I mean, yes, they have time,
00:20but they shouldn't waste the time thinking that there's so much time in between now and then that
00:25they can make up the difference. It gets harder and harder, especially if you get married,
00:30have kids, start saving for college, trying to buy a house, etc., etc. So instill that habit right
00:35from the get-go. And then at the other end of retirement, a lot of people get to retirement
00:40and they get there and they retire from something but not to something. They get to be 62 or 65
00:47and they say, well, I'm done. I'm tired. I have enough Social Security. I think I have enough
00:52money in my 401k and I'm going to call it quits. And they call it quits without figuring out what
00:57it is that they're going to do for the next 30 years of their life. So what I would suggest to
01:01people is long before you say I'm done and you hand in your key to the front door is to think
01:07carefully about what you're going to do in retirement. So often people who retire without
01:13something to do in retirement go back to work and oftentimes go back to the work for the very
01:18same employer that they just left. And it's part because they didn't know how they were
01:22going to fill their time. So think carefully about what your purpose will be in retirement.
01:27And I think at the young end, taking advantage of the 40 years of savings that you can have
01:33is important. And at the tail end of your career, thinking long and hard about what
01:37it is you're going to do with 30 years of free time.

Recommended