8 Ways to Accelerate Retirement Savings

Think outside the fund

You're approaching 50 -- or maybe you've even passed it by -- and it suddenly dawns on you that you need to fatten up your retirement fund in a hurry.

If you're in a high enough income tax bracket, the solution may be simply to think outside of the fund. While there are limits on how much money you can contribute to a tax-favored qualified retirement plan, you can save as much as you want somewhere else.

"Somehow people have a tendency to believe that the only money they can have in retirement has to have the word IRA attached to it … and that's just not true," says Scott Cramer, president of Cramer & Rauchegger, a financial advisory firm in Winter Park, Fla. "If you have maxed out your IRAs and your 401(k)s, don't be afraid to put money into a savings account."

Or you can open a taxable brokerage account.

From Cramer and other financial advisers, Bankrate got seven more strategies that late or slow starters can use to bump up their retirement savings.

Set a goal Determine how much retirement income you need, taking into account your living expenses, tax situation and estate plans. Then figure out how much income can be generated by Social Security or pensions. The difference has to come from your retirement savings. "Put a goal out there and have a number that you want to hit," says Ernesto Sampson, a Certified

Financial Planner with Ameriprise Financial Services in Glen Allen, Va., who advocates targeting a dollar amount that is large but "not too outrageous."

Adds Cramer: "People who are just socking money away in hopes that they will be able to accumulate enough money may not be planning as well as the people who know what they need to do."

Get a coach

A good financial adviser can help you assess your retirement income goal and create a plan to achieve it. Along with the many clients Pamela Kiernan encounters who haven't even attempted to calculate a number, she sees others who have such a huge figure in mind that it seems out of reach.

"They think they have to have 5 or 6 or 10 million dollars in order to retire, yet they have (only) $150,000 to $300,000. But the mere thought of making up the shortfall is so intimidating to them … that they don't know what to do," says Kiernan, a Certified Financial Planner with Merrill Lynch in Stamford, Conn.

According to Sampson, the accountability factor is a major benefit of working with a pro. "It's almost like an athlete (who) has to have a trainer," he says.

Maximize the match

Not all employers offer to match their workers' 401(k) contributions. But if you're one of the lucky ones with access to this benefit, grab it. Kiernan says any employee not getting the full amount of an employer's 401(k) match is leaving free money on the table.

"Not only that, the beauty of that money -- as it is with the rest of their company retirement plan -- is the tax-deferred compounding that will create the snowball effect," Kiernan says.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in May 2010 that 41 percent of workers had retirement savings plans in which their employers matched their contributions up to 6 percent of their earnings, while 10 percent had plans that were matched at a higher level. As for the rate, 53 percent of the plans matched contributions at 50 cents or less on the dollar.

So if your employer plan matches 50 cents on up to 6 percent of your earnings, be sure to contribute at least 6 percent of your pay to get the match. This amounts to a 50 percent return on your money.

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