In the US, there are plans for retirement savings to have an extreme makeover. After years of trying to figure out how to save more and invest for their retirement, Americans have finally come up with a fairly simple solution – have the employers do it for you. This is all thanks to automatic enrollment in retirement plans and some investment option, saving money has become so virtually effortless that people can’t help but succeed. This is true whether you are only starting on your career, planning to retire, or just changing jobs. For this year alone, more than 50% of all American employers are expected to offer automatic enrollment to retirement plans. This is also true for 403(b) retirement plans for non profit organization employees and teachers. Now, even if you don’t do anything, you will succeed at saving money for your retirement. Automatic escalation plans like the 401(k) plan will automatically tie in the annual salary increase of an employee. The extra money that will go into the plan won’t be missed, because they won’t be seen in the first place. This will not only help save money for retirement, but also save money on taxes.

So what do you have to do to ensure successful retirement savings? Here are some steps you can follow. Firstly, you have to sign up. Usually, most employers support automatic enrollments for retirement plans, although you will have the option of opting out of automatic enrollment. If you opt out within 90 days, then you won’t even suffer from a tax penalty. Secondly, get help from the professionals. If you automatically enrolled in a retirement plan, but did not select an investment, then your employer will be the one to choose an appropriate long-term investment. Now, employers even offer their employees with the access to personalized financial advice. So if you seem wary of where your savings are going to, speak to someone who is knowledgeable about finance. Third, always check the progress of your savings. Ask your employer is they offer free one-on-one financial counseling for plan participants. If they do, don’t hesitate to ask about the progress of your retirement plan. Fourth, you should consider a Roth IRA or Roth 410(k). in these plans, you will not get any tax breaks for now, but when you withdraw your savings and earnings, they will be tax free if you are al least 59 years of age and if your account has been open for at least 5 years. The fifth step is to roll it over. If you are in a 401(k) plan and you decide to switch jobs, you can choose to keep your money with your former employer or you can choose to consolidate your savings in that company in a rollover IRA. This will give you more flexibility in choosing your new investments. A good advice is to skip cashing out your 401(k). This is because you could lose half your current savings to penalties and taxes. Lastly, you could sell company stock. This will allow the employers to continue to match the contributions without the fear of liability.

It doesn’t matter if you are young or old. For young employees, the earlier you start on saving for your retirement, the more you will have in savings. For the older employees, what better time to start saving than now? So talk to your employers or human resource representative on company retirement plans.