What to Think About When Considering Retirement
Retirement – the end of working. For some, it might feel far away and unimaginable. For others, it might be the bright light on the horizon. Wherever retirement is for you, here are some actionable items you can take today to set yourself (and your wealth) up for success.
Early in Your Career
Are you early in your career? Does retirement feel very far off for you? Have you even thought about what savings for the future means?
Here’s the breakdown of what you need to know:
You have access to your new best friend – your 401(k) plan! When you put money into your retirement account, you are setting aside money to use when you are no longer working. Your money purchases an appropriate mix of stocks and bonds to grow your investment over time. Download the Milliman app to have easy access to your account at all times.
You’ve been auto-enrolled at 6%. That means 6% of your income is put away for future you each paycheck.
Baptist Health offers you a match on the money you save into your retirement. That’s right – free money! They match 50% on up to 8% of what you save. You will own these contributions after your third anniversary with Baptist.
Since you’re early in your career, you have access to the best tools for generating wealth: time and compound interest.
Compound interest is the money you earn on your money over time. And it just keeps building as that money grows. Time is essential for compound interest to work. It could mean the difference between having $500,000 and over $1 million when you’re ready to retire.
And you know what makes you even wealthier?
Saving at least 10%. By saving 10%, not only do you capture your full match from Baptist (so 14% total being saved per paycheck), but you also put your compound interest into overdrive to make you money.
What can you do today? Bump that savings rate up to 10% (or as close as you can), then let your retirement account work its magic.
You may also want to consider making Roth contributions instead of traditional ones. To learn more about what those are, check out this video.
Want help taking the plunge? Have other concerns you need to talk about first? Meet with a money coach!
Action to Take Now
Independent Builder
👉 Increase your 401(k) contribution to 10% and set a calendar reminder to review it annually
Overextended Juggler
👉 Turn on auto-escalation (or manually bump your contribution by 1–2%) so progress happens without extra effort
Guided Growth Seeker
👉 Schedule a quick meeting with a coach to confirm your savings rate and whether Roth contributions make sense
Intentional Enjoyer
👉 Set your contribution to 10%, then build a small “fun fund” so you don’t feel restricted
Super Saver
👉 Double-check you’re getting the full employer match and consider shifting some contributions to Roth for tax diversification
In Your Mid-Career
Okay, by now, you’ve probably heard about retirement accounts before. Maybe you’ve had one at another organization, or you’ve been contributing to the Baptist Health plan for a while.
Here’s a reminder on the basics of your plan:
You’ve been auto-enrolled at 6%. That means 6% of your income is put away for future you each paycheck.
Baptist Health offers you a match on the money you save into your retirement. That’s right – free money! They match 50% on up to 8% of what you save. You will own these contributions after your third anniversary with Baptist (if you haven’t already reached it).
So, what should you be thinking about? Well, frankly, whether or not you’ve been saving enough. You will need a certain amount of money in retirement. Depending on what you’ve been saving up until now, you may need more than what you will have if everything stays the same. At minimum, you should be saving 10%. But you may need to be saving more to make up for lost time. Take a look at the chart below to determine what your savings rate should be:
Do you have your number? Great! Head to your Milliman app and up that savings rate today so that you don’t delay on getting all your compound interest. Yes – the money making money on your money that’s making even more money on that money!
If changing your savings rate feels difficult with everything else in your life, come chat with us. We can help you get on a plan that feels right.
Another thing to consider: have you ever had another retirement account? Did you make sure to initiate a rollover into the current plan?
If you did not, now’s the time to go find where that money went. It’s yours, and you should make sure that you know where it is and what it’s doing. For help with rollovers, please contact Milliman.
Finally, you have a great tool through Baptist to save for your future health – an HSA. Consider saving into the HSA as a way to save money later on for health expenses during retirement.
Action to Take Now
Independent Builder
👉 Increase your savings rate to 12–15%+ and consolidate any old retirement accounts
Overextended Juggler
👉 Combine accounts (rollovers) and set one simplified savings rate you don’t have to think about
Guided Growth Seeker
👉 Work with a coach to calculate your target savings rate based on your retirement goal
Intentional Enjoyer
👉 Increase contributions by 1–2% and tie it to a future goal (travel, flexibility, early retirement options)
Super Saver
👉 Maximize your 401(k) and HSA contributions to optimize tax advantages
Getting Ready to Retire
Are you within 10 years of retirement? Then it’s time to start making some serious considerations!
In case you didn’t know, you will be taking distributions from your retirement account each year. This, combined with your social security, will be your “income” when you are no longer working. It’s critical that you are aware of how much money you have to work with when the time comes to stop working, and how much you plan to be spending per year.
First, make sure that you’re signed up for our Preparing to Retire workshop, where we will cover a variety of topics on what you need to make sure you’re ready to stop working.
Next, take a look at your accounts. Get familiar with how much money you have, where it is, and how to access it. Does that number surprise you?
You’ll also want to find out how much Social Security you’ll be receiving. Head to https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/calculators/ and get your estimate. This is crucial to determining if you have enough money to retire!
Take a look at all your assets next, not just your retirement accounts. What do you have in savings? Your home equity? Do you have any debt? Make note of where all these lives and write them down. Your family will thank you in the future! Similarly, put all your usernames and passwords in one place, labelled properly, so that you don’t have to worry later on when you’re ready to take distributions.
Finally, take a look at how much you think you’ll be spending each year. Will you be downsizing at all? Will things remain the same? This is very good to know to determine your “magic number” - how much you SHOULD have to retire with.
That magic number is the key to setting yourself up for success, and we want to help you find it. Let's find out together.
Action to Take Now
Independent Builder
👉 Calculate your “magic number” and compare it to your current savings to identify any gap by booking an appointment here:
Overextended Juggler
👉 Create a simple retirement income plan (what’s coming in vs. going out) to reduce uncertainty
Guided Growth Seeker
👉 Attend the retirement workshop or 1-on-1 session to map out your income strategy
Intentional Enjoyer
👉 Define what retirement looks like for you and estimate annual spending to align your savings
Super Saver
👉 Review your full financial picture and build a withdrawal strategy so you can confidently use your savings