To: Fast Facts List

America Saves Week Edition Fast Facts: SAVING FOR RETIREMENT

If theres one main takeaway from America Saves Week, it is this: Start saving early for a secure retirement. Understanding the benefits of saving early could mean thousands of dollars of additional retirement savings. FACT: Compound interest means that interest accrues not only on base payments but also on the interest earned. Over time, compound interest results in exponential growth. Why Every Year Counts If you put $5,000 into a retirement account today, and did nothing with that investment for 35 years, it would grow into $53,383, assuming a 6% growth rate.

Source: FidelityInvestments

FACT: Length of time invested matters more than contributions.

When is $10,000 Greater than $30,000? Jane, a 25-year old, contributes $1,000 to her IRA for 10 years and then contributes only $1 each year until she reaches 65-years old. Lance, another 25-year old, makes no contributions during those first 10 years, but then contributes $1,000 each year for the next 30 years. Who has more money at retirement, Jane or Lance? Jane (who contributes less money, but started saving earlier) winds up with more retirement savings, assuming a 7% annual growth rate.

Source:Roundtable

FACT: The cost of waiting to save can be significant. Cost of Waiting Based on a $30,000 salary and 6% annual contribution with an assumed 8% average rate of return, one starting to save today will have earned over $331,000 after 30 years. One starting in 5 years from now will have earned an estimated $247,000. The cost of waiting to save even for 5 years can be $84,000.

Source:AmericaFunds

FACT: Many Roundtable member companies offer free retirement calculators and many other tools and services to help you start saving early for retirement, including: PNC Financial Services Group offers the Next Step Guide to Retirement. The Next Step Guide assists consumers in building a personalized checklist of action steps to help them achieve their retirement goals. It also offers quick and easy access to robust retirementrelated tools including a Retirement Savings Calculator and a Debt & Retirement Analyzer. Allstate provides easy to follow Life Track savings plans to guide your savings throughout each life stage and event. Wells Fargo offers retirement planning by age groups and offers Beyond Today, a retirement site for women with tools by ages and stages, checklists and blogs from nationally-recognized authors. BBVA Compass offers a calculator to help determine your projected shortfall or surplus at retirement. Putnam Investments provides a state-by-state tax rate map and retirement-income tool calculator. State Farm publishes easy-to-understand retirement advice in its Retirement Learning Center and also provides its own savings calculators to help answer many individuals

retirement questions. In addition, State Farm agents offer a robust platform of financial literacy and retirement seminars in the communities they serve. Principal offers My Principal Edge Milestones. Participants whove used Milestones save an average of 39% more for retirement than those who havent used the tool. That could mean an additional $150,000 at retirement. LPL Financial Retirement Partners has a Retirement Partners tool suite for advisors, which tracks plans success and quickly compares plan fees and design. AXA Equitable offers virtual retirement savings consultations that guide you through a stepby-step process to estimate how long your retirement savings may last. Fidelity Investments helps you determine your retirement readiness in five easy steps. Raymond James offers a free online guide for making the best retirement decisions for your individual situation. ING U.S. offers www.RetireWithING.com, a comprehensive resource that provides retirement saving information and education, along with access to a financial professional. It also offers a number of free planning and savings online tools, including www.INGCompareMe.com which lets you compare yourself New York Life publishes a Security Center resource center where customers can learn about recent threats and best practices to ensure that personal information and finances are protected. Diversified Investment Providers provides participants with their Retirement Outlook, an intuitive measure of retirement readiness that is provided online and via a short and straightforward report. Diversified also provides a number of easy to use calculators to help participants save and invest wisely. Transamerica Retirement Services offers brief videos that are designed to educate individuals on retirement planning. In addition, you are also able to access investment calculators to help you determine how much you will need to save in order to reach your retirement goal. SunTrust publishes a monthly Retirement e-newsletter, integrated with LiveSolid.com, which includes helpful articles, videos, tips and more.

BB&T provides retirement tips and solutions on BBT.com called, "Learn & Plan," which is complete with audio podcasts on a host of issues, ranging from estate planning to calculators for budgeting and saving for retirement. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch created Retirement Contact Centers to help simplify the retirement process and handle customer inquiries.

Read about the growth of IRAs & 401(k)s in Fast Facts: RETIREMENT SECURITY, Part 1: http://www.fsround.org/fsr/publications_and_research/fast_facts.asp For more information, please contact Abby McCloskey, Director of Research at the Financial Services Roundtable, at abbyresearch@fsround.org, or Scott Talbott, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, at scott@fsround.org. Learn more about the Financial Services Industry at www.OurFinancialFuture.com. OurFinancialFuture.com is continuously updated to bring you the most useful information about the industry in real-time. Financial Services HOTLINE: If you have questions about this topic or any other issue facing financial services, please reach out to Abby directly at 202-589-2531. Abby Martin McCloskey Director of Research THE FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUNDTABLE
www.fsround.org

Direct: 202.589.2531
Learn more about the Financial Services Industry at www.OurFinancialFuture.com