How to find financial freedom on your road to retirement

Key Takeaways:

• Start retirement planning now to maximize retirement savings for tomorrow.
• It doesn’t take a lot for your 403(b) contributions to add up on your journey to financial freedom.
• Any amount contributed to a 403(b) is a good amount, as long as you get started and contribute consistently. 

As a young educator, you’re prepared for the challenges of your career. But it’s the financial challenges outside the classroom that are often hardest to juggle. 

It can feel like a challenge to make ends meet, especially when you’re first starting out. How can you find a little extra room in your budget for retirement planning?

Start your journey to financial freedom with a plan

Your career is all about planning: planning your lessons, planning your days, planning for when your school day gets derailed.

The same can be said of retirement planning.

Many teachers think that a comfortable retirement tomorrow is hard to achieve with all of today’s commitments and responsibilities. But the right time to save for retirement is right now – even if it’s just a few dollars at a time. That way your money can grow along with your career, so there may be more there later.

Think beyond your pension 

One of the many advantages of being a teacher is the possibility of having a pension plan. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to assume your pension can be enough to live on when you retire. On average, a traditional pension may only cover around 66% of a teacher’s salary. 

That’s why you need to know your options. 

Another advantage of working for a school district is a 403(b) retirement plan, which is similar to a 401(k), for educators.* A 403(b) plan has the flexibility to adjust as your needs change and can help your savings grow over time.

Small actions can make a big impact

At this point in your career, you may not be thinking about retirement, or you’re thinking you don’t have enough to save right now. But the reality is that every little bit makes a difference toward your goal of financial freedom. Putting just a small amount into your 403(b) plan now can accumulate over time and, by the time you retire, you may be amazed at how much it has grown. When you start early, your money has more time to grow. 

That’s because when you have money invested, it earns interest. Eventually, your interest can earn interest. This is known as compound interest. 

Here’s an example: you have $1,000 in an account that earns 5% interest. If you never add another cent to that account, here’s how compound interest can help it grow:

Find the right financial professional to answer your questions

How do I start? How do I find the extra money? How do I make it last?

You have questions, and you’re asking the right ones. The next step is to talk to a financial professional who knows you and your profession. They can help you understand not only what you should do along your road to retirement, but that you can have additional income when you get there.

Your goals are different than other professionals, and that’s where an Equitable Advisors financial professional can help. They know how to make your school’s pension and a 403(b) retirement plan work harder for you. They can also reassure you that it doesn’t take a large contribution or investment for your plan to grow by the time you retire. But the sooner you start contributing, the more you can have later. 

Register and enroll online to get started today. An Equitable Advisors financial professional can help you take the first steps towards retirement investing and discuss the advantages of a 403(b) retirement plan. 

* A 403(b) plan, often referred to as a tax-sheltered annuity (TSA) plan, is a retirement plan available specifically to employees of public schools and certain 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations – i.e., non-profit organizations. By comparison for context, a 401(k) plan is a qualified plan available specifically to employees of for-profit companies. While they have similarities, 403(b) plans and 401(k) plans are not interchangeable or entirely comparable.

Disclosures:

This informational and educational article does not offer or constitute and should not be relied upon as investment or financial advice, and the advice of your own such professionals will prevail over any information provided in this article. Equitable Advisors, LLC and its associates and affiliates do not provide tax, accounting or legal advice or services.

Equitable is the brand name of the retirement and protection subsidiaries of Equitable Holdings, Inc., including Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (Equitable Financial) (NY, NY), Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America (Equitable America), an AZ stock company, and Equitable Distributors, LLC. Equitable Advisors is the brand name of Equitable Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) (Equitable Financial Advisors in MI and TN).