“The Early Bird Catches the Worm.”

That’s especially true for long-term investors – as demonstrated in the example following:

Don didn’t start savings for his retirement until he was 45 years old. He saved $300 a month for 20 years, a total of $72,000. Maria, however, started planning at age 25. She saved $100 a month for 40 years, a total of $48,000. Both Don and Maria retired at age 65. Who do you suppose had more money?

	Amount Invested	Number of Years	Investment Return*	Balance at Retirement
Don	$300 per month	20 years	8.00%	$176,706
Maria	$100 per month	40 years	8.00%	$349,101

Because Maria started early, she ended up with far more than Don, even though he saved three times as much per month and more overall. As you can see, it is important to start saving for retirement early.

*These hypothetical investment returns are for illustrative purposes and assume reinvestment of earnings. Actual returns and principal values will vary. Balances shown are before reduction for taxes.