In recent times, the economic turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has affected retirement plans for many Americans. And infection rates vary in different parts across the country, introducing new stressors and changing daily life.

So given all that, what are the best places in America to retire? On Tuesday, U.S. News & World Report released its list of the best places in the United States to retire for 2020 and 2021.

The top destination, according to the survey? Sarasota, Florida.

To determine the best places to retire, in August, U.S. News surveyed more than 3,000 people who were either approaching retirement age (45-59) or at it, about the factors they consider important in a retirement destination.

Based on those responses, they scored the 150 most populous metropolitan areas based on six indexes: housing affordability, happiness, desirability, retiree taxes, job market and health care quality. Each place was given an overall score out of 10 points.

These are the top five best cities to retire in 2020 and 2021, according to U.S. News:

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Known for its spacious farms and Amish communities, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, about an hour west of Philadelphia, was the fifth-best place to retire this year, with a score of 7.4 in the retirement index. In 2018, Lancaster came in first place in U.S. News' retirement ranking. This year, Lancaster got top ranks in health care and housing affordability, with a median home price of $215,975.

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The "Sunshine State"is a popular retirement spot for reasons beyond the year-round sunny weather. Naples, for example, which is on the Gulf of Mexico in southwest Florida, got an overall retirement score of 7.4 out of 10. Homes are less affordable in Naples than other Florida cities, with a median price of $326,000. That said, Naples and other Florida municipalities have a "homestead tax exemption" for permanent residents, which decrease a property's taxable value by up to $50,000.

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Port St. Lucie, Florida which is located between Miami and Orlando, and north of Palm Beach took third place in U.S. News' retirement ranking, with an overall score of 7.4. The reason? High scores in affordable housing and health care. (Port St. Lucie scored slightly higher than Naples in these two categories.) Sports fans might know Port St. Lucie as the spring training site of the New York Mets, and the home of the PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance. In 2019, Port St. Lucie was ranked the fifth-best place to retire by U.S. News.

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Though Fort Myers, Florida took the top rank of retirement destinations in 2019, this year it moved to second place with a score of 7.4. The Southwest Gulf Coast city has high scores in housing affordability (6.5), with the median home costing $226,825. However, it only scored 5.9 for healthcare. Lee County, where Fort Myers is located, has 21,331 cases of Covid-19.

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With an overall score of 7.6, Sarasota, Florida was the top-ranked place to retire, up from second place last year. The "Circus City" which is located in southwest Florida, was ranked very high in housing affordability, with a median home price of $227,754. Sarasota also received a score of 6.4 for healthcare. (Sarasota County has reported more than 8,600 cases of Covid-19.) The city of 785,997 people is very popular among older adults; 31% of residents are over 65, and the median age of residents is 52.

Although Florida and other Southern states claimed many of the top spots in the U.S. News ranking, Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the University of Michigan, came in seventh place with high scores in health care. Elsewhere in the Midwest, Grand Rapids, Michigan, the second-largest city in Michigan, was ranked within the top 25. And in New England, Manchester, New Hampshire, which is an hour from Boston, Massachusetts, came in 14th place with a score of 7.0.

To see how your city measured up, visit U.S. News for the full listing.

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Retail REITs are among the many ways to gain exposure to real estate without becoming a landlord. Here, a strip mall parking lot in Marlboro, N.J. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

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What role should REITs play in my FIRE portfolio?

To achieve financial independence before traditional retirement age, you need a portfolio that includes investments that can provide large returns, particularly during an economic downturn. So its no surprise that many FIRE adherents turn to real estate as a key element in their financial planning.

Yet while many look to become landlords for the steady income and growth potential, a high bar to entry means property ownership isnt for everyone, says Angela Palacios, a financial planner and director of investment at the Southfield, Mich.-based Center for Financial Planning, where she oversees asset allocation for $1.2 billion in client portfolios.

Barrons brings retirement planning and advice to you in a weekly wrap-up of our articles about preparing for life after work.

Instead, she recommends real estate investment trusts for FIRE investors to access the returns that rental properties can offer, without the overhead or legwork required to be a landlord. REITs blend the ability of owning real estate with the convenience of purchasing a stock, she says.

REITs are companies that generate income through rental properties, which are often commercial. For example, a company might own and manage multiple strip malls, apartment complexes, or industrial properties. Publicly traded REITs are bought and sold much like stocks, giving shareholders access to a percentage of the rental income that those properties generate.

REITs are required to pay out at least 90% of their annual taxable income to investorstranslating to largely consistent, and potentially large, dividends. That income can help prevent a FIRE investor from drawing on accounts that he or she is banking on for the long term. And if the income isnt needed yet, the dividends can be reinvested to help boost savings.

On average, REIT dividends tend to hover around 4%. So, theyre naturally appealing when interest rates are down and investors are looking for something with decent yields, Palacios says.

But beware of using REITs in place of corporate or government bonds in your portfolio, she says. REITs are often more volatile than bonds, so Palacios recommends treating them more like a part of your stock portfolio. You can hold them in a taxable brokerage account, but a tax-deferred account can allow an investor to shelter returns, which may be particularly appealing to those in a high tax bracket.

Palacios generally makes sure clients have exposure to REITs through REIT mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. Both options provide diversification, which can be particularly beneficial in an uncertain economy. A simple and inexpensive ETF that Palacios recommends is Vanguard Real Estate ETF (ticker: VNQ), which is based on a U.S. REIT market index .

If choosing to invest in an individual REIT on your own, make sure to seek out impartial sources of information, Palacios says. She recommends researching on the Securities and Exchange Commission website or Morningstar.com, both of which can provide the valuation metrics needed to make an informed investment. If youre not sure what to look for, start with paying attention to the analyst comments and a REITs price versus fair value ratings. Undervalued REITs are priced below their fair value.

While Palacios deals only with publicly traded REITs, some investors do seek out a broker to help them purchase privately held REITs. Investors should beware that private REITs may be available only to accredited investors who either have at least $1 million in net worth (excluding their primary residence) or who have earned over $200,000 per year for the past two years. They dont provide the same liquidity as publicly traded options. They may also have high buy-in fees, and because theyre privately held, they arent required to publish the same information on their performance.

REITs offer FIRE investors a potentially strong passive income stream. Some investors may still prefer buying whole properties themselves, for the hands-on aspect and financial benefits of being a landlord. Either option can work, if you know what youre looking for, Palacios says. Youre building your wealth, so whatever will give you the return you need to help you reach your goals may be worth considering.

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Forget the Rent, Collect the Yield: Why Investors Looking to Retire Early Should Consider REITs - Barron's

Coronavirus is changing when and why workers are retiring. FOX Business Gerri Willis with more.

Making your retirement money last is imperative to enjoying financial security in your later years. Unfortunately, far too many retirees make major mistakes that could leave them at risk of running short of cash. Here are four big errors that could leave you broke.

THE 5 MOST IMPORTANT RETIREMENT QUESTIONS

To make sure your retirement money doesn't run short, you can't afford to drain your account too quickly. Taking too much money out impairs the ability of your money to work for you. When you have too little invested to earn reasonable returns, your accounts will empty out fast.

To make sure this doesn't happen, decide on a safe withdrawal strategy that makes sense for you. Experts recommended the4% rulefor years, but with interest rates so low now and life spans getting longer, this approach leaves you at serious risk of running short.

HALF OF RETIREES WISH THEY'D BUDGETED MORE FOR THIS

TheCenter for Retirement Researchat Boston College instead recommends calculating your withdrawal rate based on tables the IRS prepares to help you figure out required minimum distributions. If you want to simplify things, though, you could always just decide on a lower withdrawal rate, such as taking 3% of your account balance out in the first year of retirement and then adjusting withdrawals to keep pace with inflation each year thereafter.

As a retiree, you need to maintain the appropriateasset allocation. If you invest too conservatively because you're scared of incurring losses, you could earn very low returns, causing your nest egg to dwindle too fast. On the other hand, if you're overexposed topotentially volatile stocks,you could experience outsize losses.

To make sure you have the right mix of investments, subtract your age from 110. Invest that percentage of your portfolio in the stock market (so the portfolio of a 70-year-old, for example, would have 40% in stocks) and the remainder in safer investments, even though they have a lower potential return on investment.

3 SOCIAL SECURITY BASICS EVERY INVESTOR MUST KNOW

Investment fees eat away at returns throughout your working life, but they can become an especially big problem when you're on a fixed income and every dollar counts.

Today, most brokerages offer $0 commissions on stock trades, so you shouldn't pay a fee to buy or sell investments. And carefully review management fees for any funds you invest in. If you work with a financial or investment adviser, you'll also want to understand the adviser's fee structure upfront and make sure it's reasonable and worth the money.

THIS LESSER-KNOWN RETIREMENT SAVINGS TOOL IS LOADED WITH TAX BENEFITS

Health care is one of the biggest expenses retirees face, with the Employee Benefit Research Institute estimating a senior couple in 2020might need as much as $325,000to cover out-of-pocket health care costs throughout retirement. And that doesn't even take long-term care into account.

You should cover health care throughout the entirety of your career by saving money in a health savings account (HSA) or earmarking some 401(k) or IRA funds for your medical needs. If you haven't done that, try to save an emergency fund for medical care, shop around for the most comprehensive insurance coverage you can find, and consider long-term care insurance.

Now you know how to avoid these mistakes that could drive you broke, so hopefully, you can enjoy a financially secure retirement.

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If you decide that your primary income source during retirement will be none other than Social Security, whose meager raises barely allow seniors to keep up with inflation, then you may be in for a financial shock once you leave the workforce behind. But if you make an effort to save independently and save well, then you'll lower your risk of winding up short.

How much money should you set aside for retirement? A good rule of thumb is to aim to sock away 15% to 20% of your earnings (more if possible) in a 401(k) or IRA. Furthermore, you'll want to invest your savings aggressively for maximum growth, and that means loading up on stocks, especially when you're younger and retirement is a good number of years away.

The amount of savings you're able to amass in time for retirement will depend on how early you start building your nest egg and how well your investments perform. But here's a snapshot of the wealth you might build if you give yourself a 35-year savings window and go heavy on stocks in your portfolio:

Monthly Contribution

Ending Balance After 35 Years atAverage Annual 7% Return

$200

$331,800

$400

$663,500

$600

$995,300

$800

$1.33 million

$1,000

$1.66 million

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Americans Are Facing a $3.83 Trillion Retirement Shortfall. Here's What to Do About It - North Platte Telegraph

Recently, Ive written several columns on timing your retirement that were inspiredby the many questions I receive about choosing not only the best retirement date, but overall retirement readiness and eligibility.

Here are the ones published over the past couple of months:

These columns have prompted some of you to provide additional insight regarding retirement planning in 2020. For example, a recent law enforcement retiree from the Department of Homeland Security wrote the following:

I read your article about the smaller number of people retiring in 2020 compared to 2019 and I wanted to give you a little bit of insight. Due to COVID-19 and the work from home situation, tons of people have banked a boatload of leave and were going to retire at the end of last year or early this year. Instead, they are holding on and waiting to cash it all in at the end of 2020. If leave caps arent waived, there will likely be a flood of retirements. We will likely know in a few weeks, as that is the time agencies remind employees about end of leave year use.

Further, those like me who were hired under the 1994 crime bill are all coming of age and are eligible for retirement. Beyond that, the Thrift Savings Plan has recovered from the downturn earlier in the year, so in the end I would imagine that governmentwide retirement will be off the charts at the end of the year.

The first delay will be at the agency. They will look at paperwork but cant really process it to send to the Office of Personnel Management until you actually leave the office. I was told that they only forward to OPM from the agency after final leave is paid. [Note: This is true. See more about retirement processing in my August 2019 columns, 3, 2, 1 Retire! and What Happens to Your Retirement Paperwork.] So OPM will get them all at once in late January. I was also told that my agencys retirement folks are working from home and only go to get FedEx once a week. My agency retirement specialist gave me the thumbs up when I told her I was going at the end of August instead of December because they are already overwhelmed.

Are you ready to retire at the end of 2020? Theres been a lot of upheaval in our country this year: a pandemic, increased civil unrest, a contentious presidential election. Retirement is a major life event which could add to the stress you may already be feeling.

My father lost his job at age 62 when the company he worked for went out of business. He was not quite ready to retire and when it was forced on him this way, it was a much harder transition. On the other hand, my husband seemed to start planning for retirement the day he started working. He was a good saver and did what he could to maximize his benefits.

If youre thinking about leaving at the end of 2020, be sure that you have:

Then youll know whether youre ready to join what may be a retirement wave. But as my correspondent above notes, depending on where you work and how many people decide to retire, you may be waiting awhile for all of yourbenefits to be sorted out.

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Will There Be an End-of-Year Retirement Exodus? - GovExec.com

The coronavirus crisis may be pushing back a lot of retirement plans.

Nearly 30% of Americans say they have decreased or even stopped saving in 2020.

Unfortunately, those missed contributions can equal a lot of money decades into the future.

If you begin now, you can save $1 million, $2 million or $3 million with the right amount of time and dedication. How much you'll need to save every month will depend on how old you are when you start and how much money you want for retirement.

Personal finance site NerdWallet crunched the numbers, broken down by age group, to show how much you'll have to stash away every month.

First, let's go over how we got there. The math assumes you have no money in savings, that your investments will earn 6% annually and that you retire at 67.

Check out this video to see how you can make it happen.

More from Invest in You: Here's how not to make the most common money mistake of all How mutual funds work the $18.7 trillion industry fueling retirement in the U.S.

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How much you need to invest every month to retire with $1 million to $3 million, broken down by age - CNBC

If youve ever traveled to South Africa and tried to use your multi-country adapter to recharge your phone or laptop, you may have been surprised that your adapter could not fit into the countrys unique sockets.

South Africa is now putting the electrical plugs and sockets the nation has relied on for generations on the road to retirement. The plugs, which feature three large pins configured in a triangle, are giving way to a compact hexagonal three-pin design, with sockets following suit.

The new plug and socket, which is based on the latest international standard, accommodates the European-type two-pin plugs on cellphone chargers and small appliances, as well as a two-pin plug based on a German design that comes attached to most power tools imported into the country.

Though South Africa has required buildings built since 2018 to have so-called 164-2 type sockets (the number designates the national standard for the new plug and socket type), the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) recently updated the standard to introduce warnings on adapters not permitted to be plugged into one another in order to avoid straining the socket.

Image courtesy South African Bureau of Standards

A proliferation of smartphones, tablets, and small appliances that rely on the two-pin European plug, combined with the need by South Africans to plug their devices into outlets designed for the traditional large-pin plugs (a so-called 164-1 type) found in millions of homes and offices nationwide, fuels a reliance on adapters that raises the risk of short circuiting, fire, and damage to devices.

With the array of appliances and devices that have become commonplace in todays world, it is critical to ensure that the plugs and sockets are also changing to accommodate the more compact designs of plugs, Jodi Scholtz, lead administrator of SABS, said in a statement that elaborates on the update.

Image courtesy South African Bureau of Standards

The ubiquity of 164-1 type sockets together with a deluge of two-pin devices results in the use of adapters-on-adapters in sockets across South Africa and poses a danger to consumers, she explained.

With its ability to accommodate the European-style plugs, the new South African socket will cut down on the number of adapters that people need to power their devices. Unlike its European cousin, the new South African plug adds a third pin to satisfy a national mandate that sockets have protection for earth leakage, which reduces the risk of shock by detecting stray voltage.

The new standard will not eliminate the use of adaptors, however it will reduce the need and enable safer use of them, Scholtz told Quartz Africa. Most foreign visitors will still need to use their adaptors to have devices work, and sockets will be able to accommodate the old type of plugs.

Image courtesy South African Bureau of Standards

The 164-2 plug and socket incorporate safety by design. A pocket in the socket prevents consumers from touching a live pin during insertion. To prevent adapter plugs and switches on the surface of sockets from hindering each other, the new standard creates clearance between them and allows adapters to be plugged in fully. The socket contains a safety shutter that requires insertion of at least two pins to open.

The new standard solidifies a move by South Africa away from the British standards on which South Africas 164-1 type plug and socket are based. The countries standards began to diverge in the 1960s, when the U.K. moved to a flat-pin plug and South Africa declined to follow. India, which also modeled its standards on the British, uses a three-pin plug that resembles South Africas 164-1, but the pins are much smaller.

The shift now underway in South Africa notwithstanding, the millions of 164-1 type plugs in use throughout the country will be sticking around. Sockets will continue to accommodate them, particularly in kitchens, where the plugs come attached to most appliances.

Eventually, consumers will get tired of having all these adapters, predicts Gianfranco Campetti, an electrical engineer and member of the SABS working group that developed the new standard. This is not a 90-minute game. Its going to take time.

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Katie Brockman, The Motley Fool Published 7:00 a.m. ET Oct. 13, 2020

Retirement is becoming more expensive than ever, with the average American expecting to need nearly $2 million to enjoy their senior years comfortably, according to a survey from Charles Schwab.

Because it's crucial to save as much as possible for retirement,that also means avoiding costly mistakes. And there's one blunder that may seem harmless on the surface, but it can cost you tens of thousands of dollars or more.

Your 401(k) is a powerful investing tool, but it's important to use it wisely. When you have thousands of dollars socked away in your retirement fund, it may be tempting to use your 401(k) as a savings account and withdraw some cash here and there for emergencies. However, that can cost you big time in the long run.

Generally, when you withdraw money from your 401(k) before age 59 1/2, you're subject to income taxes and a 10% penalty on the amount you take out. The more dangerous consequence, though, is how much you'll lose in potential investment gains over time when you withdraw from your savings.

Not sure how much to contribute to your 401 (k)?: Make sure to get your full employer match

More: The year is almost over, here's what to do with your 401(k)

Your savings rely on compound interest to grow, and every time you take money out of your 401(k), you're limiting your investments' growth potential. Withdrawing a few hundred or thousand dollars here and there may not seem like it would make a significant difference, but even one withdrawal can potentially cost you tens of thousands of dollars over time.

To see just how much a single withdrawal could affect your long-term savings, let's look at an example.

Back in April, when many Americans were raiding their retirement funds due to the coronavirus pandemic, the average withdrawal was $5,500, according to date from Fidelity Investments. The average 401(k) account balance is approximately $104,400.

Say you have $104,400 stashed in your 401(k), and you take a $5,500 withdrawal. Here's how much that one withdrawal could affect your long-term savings, assuming you're earning a 7% annual rate of return on your investments and you're not making any additional contributions.

0 (Today)

$98,900

$104,400

15

$272,868

$288,043

20

$382,712

$403,995

25

$536,773

$566,624

Source: Author's calculations

After 25 years, that $5,500 withdrawal can amount to $29,851 in lost potential gains. And if you were to continue saving for more than 25 years, you could potentially miss out on even more money.

It's also important to keep in mind that this is a result of just one withdrawal. If you were to make repeated withdrawals over the years, you'd see an even greater impact on your total savings.

Although tapping your 401(k) may not seem so bad in the short term, it can wreak havoc on your long-term savings especially if you withdraw a lot of cash or make several withdrawals over time. While in true financial emergencies you may have no choice but to raid your savings, try your best to avoid dipping into your 401(k) if at all possible. By leaving your money alone, it will be easier to build a healthy nest egg by retirement age.

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Offer from the Motley Fool: The $16,728 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook

If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as$16,728 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.

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Oct. 17, 2020, 8:30 AM UTC

For over three decades, Stephanie Byers taught music and band at the largest public high school in Kansas. After seeing how decisions made by state lawmakers affected her students, she decided to trade retirement for politics.

They saw a bottom line, a number that needs to be worked with, and didn't think about what that means when a student is staring at a textbook that is being held together by duct tape because it outlived its usefulness and the district didn't have the money to replace textbooks, said Byers, who is running to be the next representative of Kansas House District 86, which includes much of Wichita.

A Democrat who ran unopposed in the primaries, Byers will face off against Republican Cyndi Howerton, a businesswoman, in the November election. While Kansas is largely a conservative state, Byers is a strong contender in Wichita, a progressive enclave that has historically swung left.

If elected, Byers has vowed to fight for increased funding for education and Medicaid expansion in Kansas, one of at least 12 states that have not expanded the program under the Affordable Care Act. She has also made civil rights protections a pillar of her campaign in a state where, according to advocacy group Freedom for All Americans, "there are currently no explicit, comprehensive statewide non-discrimination protections" for LGBTQ people.

When Byers came out as transgender six years ago, she was largely embraced by her students and colleagues, an experience that pushed her to become a trailblazer for trans educators in her school district.

I realized that when I came out as a teacher that I was blazing the pathway, she said. A lot of public educators that are trans may not necessarily come forward and come out during their careers, because the fact that there's the fear of prejudice is going to be there.

As Republican-backed anti-transgender legislation including much designed to keep trans students out of public restrooms and off sports teams proliferated in statehouses across the country, including in Kansas, Byers met with school officials and spoke at community events to educate the public about gender identity.

Last October, she spoke out on behalf of trans educators and students at an American Civil Liberties Union rally outside of the Supreme Court, which at the time was hearing arguments in cases that would determine whether employers had a right to terminate workers because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2018, a year before she retired, Byers was named both state Educator of the Year by GLSEN Kansas and national Educator of the Year by GLSEN, the national LGBTQ youth advocacy organization with chapters across the country.

If Byers wins her election on Nov. 3, she will be the first out transgender lawmaker from Kansas. She is one in a "rainbow wave" of at least 574 LGBTQ candidates who will be on the ballot next month, according to a new report by Victory Fund, a group that trains, supports and advocates for LGBTQ candidates. Byers said politicians who are transgender are seen as novelties, and thats something she hopes to change.

It's a part of who we are. It's part of our identity, but it's not the only thing. There's so many other things we are passionate about as well, she said. It's just a matter of normalizing that enough that it's no longer a thing, and ... it's just a matter of what can we do to serve the communities that elected us?

The candidate, who grew up in neighboring Oklahoma, is a wife, parent of two adult sons and a grandparent of nine children. Shes a member of the Native American Chickasaw Nation and has deep roots in the working class. She said her father, a longtime U.S. Postal Service worker, and her mother, who served as national vice president to the American Postal Workers Union Auxiliary, showed her the struggles that working-class families face.

I'm a parent, I'm the grandparent, and I know the challenges that families face at this time, Byers said, and that's who I want to be a voice for for those families that need somebody who stands up for them.

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Julie Compton is a freelance journalist in Brooklyn, New York. Follow her@julieallmighty

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'Blazing the pathway': Retired teacher could become Kansas' first transgender lawmaker - NBC News

Getting younger employees to save for retirement is right up there with getting a finicky child to eat their vegetables. Sure, it's good for them, but it's not always what they want.

Participation rates and average deferral rates in voluntary enrollment plans for workers younger than 35 are well below those of other age groups, indicating that HR teams may need to take extra steps to reach this segment of their employee base, according to data from Vanguard, a leading 401(k) provider.

HR professionals are uniquely positioned to best assist younger workers. The best tack for HR experts to take with millennials in regard to retirement saving is to point out some of the mistakes their parents' generation has made in that area.

These five points listed below can help your younger workforce be better retirement savers than those in their parents generation.

Help employees understand the destination When it comes to saving for retirement, a lot of older workers are clearly lost. Younger workers have an opportunity to do a better job of staying on track.

Vanguards data show the average 401(k) participant within 10 years of retirement age (i.e., between ages 55 and 64) has a plan balance of just $69,097.

That may not provide much help over a retirement of 10 or 20 years.

Caution young staff members that one reason older workers are so badly behind in retirement saving is that they haven't checked first to see where they're going.

A MoneyRates retirement plan survey finds that 71% of workers within 20 years of retirement age still have not done a calculation of how well their savings will hold up over their retirement years.

Encourage your workforce to determine what enough savings is. Inform your staff that it only takes a few minutes to use a retirement calculator to see how much to put aside to meet savings goals. That way, your employees will know where their retirement plan is heading.

Educate employees on how to get debt under control Saving for retirement is undermined when employees are also building up debt at the same time.

Stress that debt costs more than retirement investments are likely to earn, a dollar in debt can more than counteract the benefit of a dollar in savings.

According to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, the typical household still has $69,000 in debt by the time the head of that household is within 10 years of retirement.

Notice that this figure almost exactly matches the previously-mentioned amount that the average 401(k) participant in that age group has. In other words, debt can effectively wipe out a person's 401(k) savings.

So, your teams first step toward educating workers about building a more secure retirement should be to do something many in their parents' generation failed to do: get debt under control.

Teach employees how to spread savings to make the burden lighter Retirement saving is a big job, but younger workers have something very important on their side: time. Emphasize that spreading retirement savings out over 25 to 40 years makes the job much easier.

It gets tougher if young workers do what many of their parents' generation have done--wait and then try to catch up in the last ten years or so until retirement.

The golden rule: Don't leave free money on the table When employers provide a 401(k) match, all staff should understand there's a direct financial incentive to start saving now. Every time employees put money into their 401(k) plan, the employer kicks in some on their behalf.

If employees don't contribute money into the plan, they don't get this money from the employer. There's no going back in future years and reclaiming that extra money the employer would have put in on the workers behalf.

The only way not to miss out on this free money is to contribute each and every year and to contribute enough to get the maximum employer match available.

Show employees the benefits of saving A dollar saved today can equal $10 at retirement age.

Saving money is hard work, but HR professionals can show their employees that it gets easier when they let their investments do the work for them.

The investment returns earned become much more powerful when compounded over a long period of time. Compounding means earning a return not just on the original money invested, but also on the returns earned in other years.

Younger workers must recognize that a dollar invested today could be worth much more than a dollar invested toward the end of their career.

There are many people of older generations who would be a lot better off today if they absorbed each of these five lessons when they were younger.

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5 ways HR can help millennials be smarter than their parents about retirement - Employee Benefit News