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If you’ve planned your golden years into midlife, you’re not alone.
According to the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement, 65% of Americans believe rising costs of living will prevent them from enjoying retirement(1). Meanwhile, 54% of baby boomers say they are not saving as much as they would like for retirement.
For those starting late, saving enough time in time can seem like a daunting challenge. The same Allianz survey showed that nearly half of Americans “don’t know how much they want to save.” But among those who do, Americans say they need up to $3,327,000 to retire comfortably.
Even if you’re one of the many Americans who’s not yet at the level you expected to be saving for retirement, you still have options — here are six ways to catch up quickly.
You don’t necessarily need to save a lot of money right away to achieve your retirement goals. $10 a week can make a difference – if you use it wisely.
With Acorns, every purchase you make on a credit or debit card is automatically rounded to the nearest dollar, and the excess (the coins that would end up in your pocket if you paid cash) is put into smart portfolios.
Suppose you purchase a donut for $2.30. Before you lick the candy off your fingers, Acorns rounds the amount to $3.00 and invests you the 70 cents difference. Here’s what it adds up to: $2.50 worth of daily rollup value is worth $900 per year — and that’s before your savings make money in the market.
Plus, if you sign up now, you’ll get a $20 bonus investment.
If you have the option, take advantage of your employer’s 401(k) matching plan. Whenever you receive a raise or bonus, make an effort to increase your contributions.
For an alternative to investing in retirement funds other than traditional stocks, you might consider investing directly in precious metals.
A gold IRA is one option for building a retirement fund using inflation-hedged assets.
One way to invest in gold that offers significant tax benefits is to open a gold IRA with the help of Priority Gold.
A gold IRA allows investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets in a retirement account, which combines the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold. This may be an attractive option for those looking to protect their savings from economic uncertainty.
To learn more, you can get a free information guide with details on how to earn up to $10,000 in free silver with qualifying purchases.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Americans saved just 4.7% of their disposable income in September (2).
According to the CNBC Select and Dynata Banking Behavior Survey, 82% of Americans do not use a high-yield savings account(3).
This means they could lose a significant amount of their monthly gains due to the compounding effect of rising interest rates.
Make sure your money is working hard for you in the background, earning the best interest rate you can get.
High-yield accounts, such as the Wealthfront Cash Account, can be a great place to grow your emergency fund, offering competitive interest rates and easy access to cash when you need it.
The Wealthfront Cash Account offers a base variable APR of 3.50%, but new customers can get a 0.65% boost for the first three months, for a total APR of 4.15% offered by the bank on your uninvested cash. That’s more than 10 times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s December report.
With no minimum balance or account fees, along with 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, you can be sure your funds are always available. In addition, the FDIC insures Wealthfront cash account balances up to $8 million through program banks.
With home values higher than ever, you can make your home work for you even more by leveraging your equity. The average homeowner has about $307,000 in equity as of the second quarter of 2025, according to Cotality (4).
Tapping into your home equity can help pay for unexpected expenses, fund a major purchase like a home improvement, or supplement your income in retirement.
Interest rates on HELOCs and home equity loans are typically lower than the annual interest rates on credit cards and personal loans, making them an attractive option for homeowners with significant equity.
With Figure, you can get a fast, fully online HELOC from the comfort of your home. This means you can unlock equity in your home without filling out mounds of paperwork – and without an in-person appraisal.
You can check rates for free and complete the application process in minutes – and get funded in just five days for loans under $400,000.
Unlike a traditional HELOC, which allows you to borrow incremental amounts, Figure gives you the full approved amount up front. It works more like a quick home equity loan, but with HELOC-style flexibility.
Figure’s platform has provided more than $20 billion in loans. Additionally, it has an average Trustpilot rating of 4.8 stars and serves more than 217,000 households.
If you’re looking to consolidate your high-interest debt or pay off a large one-time purchase, Figure’s HELOC may be right for you.
If you’re a retiree with dependents or a partner, you’ll want to make sure they have enough funds to cover unexpected expenses if the worst happens.
Life insurance can provide a versatile solution to help support your family, provide coverage to replace lost income or resolve outstanding debts in the event of your death.
Choosing term life insurance through a provider like Ethos can ensure your loved ones are protected from unexpected expenses as you age. With term life insurance, you can get affordable coverage while managing your other financial responsibilities.
Ethos offers a simple online process to get coverage up to $2 million for 10 to 30 years. To get a free quote, just answer a few questions about yourself. You can then compare various policies and choose the one that best suits your needs.
If you’re not sure which path to take in today’s market uncertainty, now might be a good time to talk to a financial advisor.
According to the 2025 LIMRA Protected Lifetime Income and Planning Study, 78% of consumers who work with a financial professional are confident they will have sufficient income in retirement, compared with only half of those who do not receive advice (5).
Advisor.com’s online platform helps connect you with the best-vetted financial advisors to help you create a new wealth plan.
Just answer a few simple questions about yourself and your financial situation, and the platform will match you with an experienced financial professional. You can view their profiles, read past customer reviews, and schedule an initial consultation for free, no hiring required.
You can view advisor profiles, read past client reviews, and schedule an initial consultation for free without hiring.
We rely only on vetted sources and reliable third-party reports. For more information, see our Editorial Ethics and Guidelines.
Allianz(1);
Bank of East Asia(2); CNBC(3); Common(4); Limra(5)
This article provides information only and should not be considered advice. It is provided without any warranty of any kind.