Retire at Any Age: How Women Can Get There by 30, 40, 50 and 60 Years Old

Wanting to retire early and achieve financial freedom is a dream for many women but getting there can entail many challenges. While experts recommend several financial strategies -such as the FIRE (financial independence and early retirement) approach, which has rapidly been gaining momentum and entails living below your means and saving aggressively- this is not easily feasible for many women.

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Indeed, a new GOBankingRates survey found that only 21% of women said that saving for retirement is their top financial goal. Other goals must take precedence for women, such as paying off debt, with 26.6%, and covering basic expenses, with 26%, the survey found.

“Saving for retirement should be a top financial goal for everyone – as we are facing a real retirement crisis,” said Shelly Ann Eweka, CFP, and senior director of TIAA Institute.  “About 40% of U.S. households are at risk of running out of their retirement savings. That figure becomes even more dire for women – who tend to have 30% less in retirement savings than men.”

Yet, several experts noted that for women who want to retire early, with some planning and discipline, this goal can be achievable.

Know How You Want To Live When You Retire

While everyone thinks about when they want to retire -knowing how you want to live during your retirement years is an equally important question, said Eweka.

This will help shape your savings plan, so it is important to begin with the end in mind. For instance, ask yourself questions such as how much money do you need to live on in retirement? Do you want to travel around the world, or do you plan to stay close to home? Will you still have a mortgage, or do you plan to downsize? Do you want to give to your children/causes you support or will you need to financially support someone else in your retirement?

And as Tanya Peterson, consumer finance expert and vice president at Achieve argued, this is different for everyone and depends on a slew of factors.

“A 30-year-old living in Manhattan will probably have different thoughts on retirement, different lifestyle interests and plans, and different financial needs than a 60-year-old living in a Midwest suburb,” she said, adding that similarly, a married woman with children will have different things to consider than a single woman without children.

“The key is to determine your plan for your retirement, then figure out how much it will take. There are many excellent online retirement planning calculators available. Check out a few, plug in different variables, and get realistic savings goals,” Peterson added.

See: 8 Ways Middle-Class People Become Poor in Retirement

Invest Early and Invest Aggressively

According to Alyssa Zagrobski, director of retirement plan services at Shelton Capital Management, women in their 20s and 30s should invest early and invest aggressively.

“If your company offers a 401(k) or any type of retirement plan, invest in it,” she said. “Take advantage of the company match. Compound interest is your friend!”

Zagrobski added that you can consider more equity investments than bonds and fixed income. And if you work for yourself, consider an IRA and max it out, she added.

Be a Budget Boss

Zagrobski said that she recently talked to a client who saved $100,000 in her 20s while living in Manhattan by taking public transportation and renting a car when necessary, versus owning a car in the city.

“Even if you live in an expensive zip code, you can save,” she said. “Consider living with roommates, get a babysitting or bartending job on the weekends, buy items secondhand, and always put an emphasis on investing over spending.”

She also recommended a side hustle, which “maybe won’t pay your bills now, but will help supplement income or health care costs when you retire.”

“If it’s something you can do part-time or on the side, it may help you retire early and/or allow you to make money in perpetuity,” she added.

Save as Much as You Can and Live Below Your Means

To retire at any age, but especially to retire early, you have to put a plan in place early- and with most employers not offering pensions and with Social Security not being a replacement for most people’s earnings, we all need a plan in place to (primarily) self-fund our retirement, said Michelle Guissinger, CPA and financial advisor of Wealth Enhancement Group.

“This means living below your means during your working years by saving a portion of your earnings in an intentional way that will build a nest egg ample to provide income to you during your retirement,” she said, adding that a financial advisor can help you put this plan in place with recommendations about how much to save and in which accounts to save.

Of course, she added that such a plan will require an important balance between spending and saving, but it leads to a smooth transition to retirement. First, you are setting aside part of your earnings today to live on in the future and then, you also get used to living off of less than your current earnings which means your income in retirement doesn’t have to equal your current earnings, she added.

Start Saving as Early as Possible

This is critical, many experts said.

“Consider that if you were to save $1,000 a month for 30 years at a 4% interest rate compounded daily, you’d have more than $685,000 accumulated – excellent, but still not enough for most people to fully retire on. Increase that to $2,000 a month and you’d have nearly $1.4 million in 30 years,” said Peterson.

But if you save $2,000 a month for only 10 years at that same interest rate, you’d accumulate just $292,000, she added.

Play Catch-Up If Needed

And if you got a late start on retirement savings or had to take time out of the workforce for caregiving, now is the time to kick your contributions into high gear.

“Take advantage of catch-up contributions if you’re 50 or older, which allow you to save an extra $6,500 per year in a 401(k) or $1,000 in an IRA,” said Neal Shah, CEO, of CareYaya Health Technologies.

In addition, evaluate your asset allocation.

“As you get closer to retirement age, it’s important to ensure that your investment portfolio is appropriately balanced between stocks, bonds, and cash to match your risk tolerance and timeline,” he said. “Consider working with a financial advisor to make any necessary adjustments.”

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Retire at Any Age: How Women Can Get There by 30, 40, 50 and 60 Years Old