5 smart pieces of retirement advice financial planners will give you for free

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The most basic piece of retirement advice: Save and invest early.

• Meeting with a financial planner can help take your retirement strategy to the next level, but there's some basic advice they're willing to offer for free.
• For starters, save whatever you can, as early as you can; take advantage of your employer match; and don't forget to invest the money in your 401(k) - it's not just a savings account.
• Need help with your own retirement plan? SmartAsset's free tool can help find a qualified professional near you »

Retirement planning is important at any age. The earlier you start to invest your savings, the more prepared you'll likely be when the time comes.

A financial professional can help take your retirement plan to the next level when you're ready, but there are some basic pieces of advice they're willing to offer for free.

1. You don't have to get it exactly right - just start

The greatest asset in any investment portfolio is time - and it's never too early. "Surprisingly, the first step to saving for retirement is to simply start saving," Andy Smith, a certified financial planner and senior vice president of financial planning at Financial Engines, told Business Insider. "Rather than trying to get it right, keep it simple and get started building a habit of saving."

How much you need to have saved to retire will depend largely on how much you plan to spend in your later years. Once you have that target number in mind, Smith said, you can break it down into smaller, more achievable goals.

"While there is no one number Americans should have saved when they retire, it is important to set a target so you know if you're headed in the right direction," he said. "For instance, set the goal to have 'x' amount of dollars saved by age 'x.'"

2. Take advantage of your employer match

If you have a 401(k) or other defined-contribution retirement plan at work with an employer matching program, you'd be remiss not to take advantage of it, Brian Face, a certified financial planner and founder of Michigan-based Face 2 Face Planning, previously told Business Insider.

For every dollar of your pretax salary you contribute to your retirement account up to a certain amount, your employer may match it. "If a company matches the first 3% that you contribute, that is a 100% return on that 3% without the stock market even moving," Face said.

While it's generally fine to table retirement savings if you're paying back debt, consider making an exception if you have the opportunity to score free money from your employer, Ryan Cole, a certified financial planner and private wealth adviser at Citrine Capital in San Francisco, previously told Business Insider.

"In the event you find that you're paying less than a 9% interest rate and have access to an employer retirement account with a company match," Cole said, "you may want to put in the minimum to get the company match and allocate the rest of your extra money toward your debt."

3. Don't depend on Social Security

Social Security currently makes up about one-third of all the income received by retirees, according to research conducted by United Income and the Social Security Administration, but that's changing quickly.

The Social Security trust - the government-run program that provides benefits to retirees, the disabled, and their families - will be underfunded as soon as next year, and Gen Xers and millennials are already preparing to pay for retirement largely on their own.

Find a financial planner to help create your own retirement plan with SmartAsset's free tool »

Eric Roberge, a certified financial planner, runs two separate calculations for his clients' retirement needs: one where they get 50% of their Social Security benefit and one that eliminates it completely, he explained in an article published by personal-finance magazine Kiplinger. Often, clients will see their projected success rate - the probability that they will have enough money to last in retirement - plummet when Social Security is taken out of the equation.

"This isn't a reason to panic, but it is a great reminder to plan conservatively when you do your own projections or long-term savings strategy," Roberge wrote. "Your ability to fund the life you want today and tomorrow and ensure financial security for yourself should not depend on Social Security income."

4. Make thoughtful investments

A retirement account is more than a savings fund. When you contribute to a workplace plan, like a 401(k), the money doesn't just sit there until you need it for retirement - you have to decide how to invest it. And that's where too many people fall short, according to Roberge.

In a tweet, Roberge wrote: "Big #money mistake I see a LOT: ignoring how a 401k portfolio is invested b/c it feels like SAVINGS & only thinking it's INVESTING if your money is in a brokerage acct (then *over*reacting emotionally b/c you're checking it constantly/making poor investment choices as a result)."

In short, if you have a 401(k) then you're as much an investor as you are a saver. Look for funds that diversify your portfolio - i.e. a mix of stocks and bonds - and don't levy too many fees beyond the management fees that are unavoidable in most 401(k)s, Roberge advised.

5. Save for retirement health costs in an HSA

Health savings accounts are exactly what they sound like: savings accounts that can be used for expenses related to your health - now, in retirement, or any time in between. An HSA lets you invest your savings for maximum growth and offers major tax advantages along the way, explains financial planner Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz in a Business Insider article.

You need to be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan to contribute to an HSA, but they never expire. You can use the funds for qualified health costs at any time and continue to grow the money, even if you don't enroll in a high-deductible plan later. In 2020, you can contribute up to $3,550 as an individual or $7,100 for family, plus a $1,000 catch-up contribution if you're over 55.

"Time is, of course, a key factor in taking full advantage of the investment growth potential of an HSA," Schwab-Pomerantz wrote. "So depending on your age, your HSA could be a supplement to your retirement accounts or maybe even a retirement account just for healthcare when you reach those golden - yet often costly - years."

She continued: "To me, the benefits of HSAs generally far outweigh the negatives but, as always, do your homework."

SmartAsset's free tool can help you find a financial professional to help with your own retirement planning »

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