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 Retirement Planning: Tips for Late Bloomers

Retirement planning is important at every age, but it can be especially stressful for people who start focusing on this area later in life; here are tips for people starting closer to retiring

NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Increasingly, Americans are entering the age of retirement without enough savings to do so comfortably. However, it is never too late to focus on life stage retirement planning to make the golden years glisten much more. Here are tips to do so.

Saving should be a top priority. Some people may have procrastinated while others hit some bumps in the road.

Either way, the closer a person gets to retiring, the less working years they have and less time to save. One should look at finances, consider needs and wants, and reprioritize.

Delay retiring, especially if you started saving late in life. This is beneficially for Social Security and health insurance purposes.

Social Security income is adjusted for inflation, tax efficient and guaranteed by the federal government. Every month a worker is able to put money toward this benefit, up to the age of 70, the more savings will accumulate.

If an employer-sponsored health care plan is superior, depending on their situation, one can save a great deal. When retirement planning, people often forget that Medicare does not cover every needed item, which can be very expensive.

Reconsider investments. Whether to invest aggressively or conservatively is a tough decision at any age, but especially for someone who is creating a financial plan later in life.

One may invest aggressively to make up for lost time while another may shy away from risk because they don't want to lose what little they have saved.

Risky speculation and eroding inflation are heavy considerations. The sound advice from a professional in the retirement planning field should be considered to make the right calls.

Take advantage of tax efficient plans. Taxes can quickly chip away at savings. People entering an age to retire should especially consider as many tax efficient plans as possible, such as a 401k, Roth IRA and traditional IRAs.