How will you fund your retirement? There are many different ways to finance your retirement, including Social Security, IRAs, employer-sponsored retirement plans, personal savings and assets such as your home.  

The first step in figuring out what you need for retirement is to calculate your net worth. In other words, if you sold everything you owned and paid off all your debts – how much cash would you have left in your pocket?  

Your basic financial goal for retirement should be to increase your net worth. You can do this by paying down debt, increasing savings and purchasing a lifetime investment such as a home. Assets that provide cash income, such as an IRA or employer-sponsored retirement plan, and assets that don’t provide income, such as your home, make up the balance of your net worth.