Got Retirement Goals? Stash Can Help You Get There

Planning for retirement is critical, but most people tend to put off saving for it. That’s because retirement can seem so far in the future, maybe 30, 40, even 50 years away.

And there’s so much else that requires money now—like paying your monthly living expenses, or your student loans and credit card debt, or maybe your mortgage.

But putting money away regularly for retirement, even if it’s a small amount at first, can really pay off over time.

Saving with Stash’s retirement calculator

Check out Stash’s new retirement calculator, which will help you determine how much you might need to save each month to reach your retirement goals.

Getting started is easy:

Step 1. Learn about your options.

Not everyone has an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan to help them save for retirement.

But that’s okay! Stash Retire allows you to sign up for a either a traditional or Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA), which will let you put up to $6,000 away annually. Individuals who are 50 or older are eligible for catch up contributions, which entitles them to put an extra $1,000 away every year.

Good to know: You can contribute to both an IRA and a 401(k), as long as you don’t go beyond the contribution limits for both during the calendar year.

Learn the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA here.

Step 2. Set it up.

Because you’ll be building your nest egg for years, you’ll want to make sure your portfolio has the right mix of investments, and one that suits your individual level of risk. Some investors like more risk and will load up on stocks and stock funds. Others like less risk, and might have more cash and bonds.

But whether you like more risk or less, you should always aim to diversify. In fact, diversification is part of the Stash Way. By diversifying,  you’ll hold a variety of investments that are not all subject to the same market risks, including stocks, bonds, cash, and commodities.

You’ll also be choosing investments in numerous economic sectors—not just the hot industry of the moment—as well as in different geographies around the globe. We offer exchange-traded funds (ETFs) which can help make diversification easy.

Confused? Don’t worry, when you set up a retirement account on Stash, we recommend funds for you based on how many years you have until you stop working.

Special note: All investing involves risk, and it’s possible to lose money by investing in stocks, bonds, and other securities. Find out more about investment risk here.

Step 3. Automate it.

An easy way to grow your retirement fund is to automate your savings. If you’ve budgeted properly, you should know how much money you have to save and invest each month.

Consider putting a portion of your savings into investments, and invest consistently over time. Any number of online tools will help you do that automatically.

Stash lets you automate saving and investing with its Auto-Stash tools.

Stash on!

The best time to start saving for retirement is today.

You don’t need a lot of money to start investing. Stash lets you start investing for just $5.