How to Save for Retirement Without a Full-Time Job

You might be envious of your friends that have access to a 401(k) with company matching. But your situation is more common than you think. 25% of full-time employees work at companies that don't offer a 401(k) or pension. The numbers are even worse for those that work at smaller companies.

You might be surprised by how many options you actually have available to you. Some of them are more attractive than a 401(k).

If you're self-employed or part-time employed, there are several ways to save for retirement:

1. Invest in a Roth IRA.

If you're over 50, you can save $6,500 each year. Those under 50 can set aside up to $5,500. You're not eligible if you earn over $117,000 if you're single. The amount rises to $184,000 if you're married and file jointly.

Your contributions aren't tax deductible, but you don't have to pay any taxes when you start withdrawing money after the age of 59.5.

The money you're withdrawing must have been in the account for at least five years.

2. Invest in a Traditional IRA.

While the contribution limits are the same as for a Roth, there is a major difference: your contributions are tax deductible for most, but you do pay taxes on your earnings when you withdraw them.

Whether or not your contributions are deductible depends on your income.

3. Use a Solo 401(k).

You can invest 100% of your income in a Solo 401(k), up to $18,000 each year. If you're over 50, you can invest up to $24,000.

If your work for yourself, you can contribute additional funds, up to a total of $53,000. The additional funds are limited by your income or the net earnings of your business.

4. Put money into a SIMPLE IRA.

A simple IRA will allow you to contribute up to $12,500 each year or $15,500 if you're over 50.

If you own your own business, you can even match your own contributions up to 3%!

5. Simplified Employee Pension (SEP).

Your contributions are limited to $53,000 and 20% of your net earnings or 25% of compensation. An SEP works similar to a Traditional IRA.

You can take a take deduction on your contributions and don't pay taxes on the earnings until you begin withdrawing money.

6. Invest in an index fund or funds.

While you can't deduct your contributions through a standard brokerage account, you can avoid paying taxes until you sell your shares. An index fund can be held until retirement.

Investing in individual stocks will often require selling before retirement.

You'll be charged for taxes on any gains and that money won't be available for investing purposes.

You will have more flexibility however. Most retirement accounts assess penalties for early withdrawals.

Take advantage of automatic investing. Any of these accounts will allow you to set up automatic deductions from your checking account.

The amounts necessary to open an account are very low, too.

Even if you can only contribute $25 to your retirement, you can get started today.

Consider all the options and choose the one that best takes advantage of your circumstances.

Spending an hour with a well-informed financial planner can be worthwhile. Allow an expert to put you on the best path and then take control of your retirement.

Each type of retirement account will allow a variety of investments, including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Choose an investment strategy that matches your retirement timeline.

There's no reason to allow the lack of a full-time job to interfere with your retirement planning. You have plenty of options available to you.

Learn more here about how to retire in comfort

Here are a few retirement planning resources I have found online that you can check out.

Continue to Research: Let’s face it, most people
don’t like hearing the word budget let alone creating and following one. But,with the economy the way it is more and more families are finding that to survive they need a budget and a way to cut back on expenses as much as possible.

Because you’re reading, it means you must be ready to get
serious about your family’s budget.

Now you just need to keep researching and learning more about how to manage money better and to get to work and set you budget.

You can start with downloading my free how to save money on groceries book download here, and remember I have a ton of more pages about how to make a budget and save money below in the resources section.

What do you think of this article?

What is the one thing you love/hate about budgeting and saving money?

Did you find this post fun, informative and useful? If so, please share it with others!

If you have a comment, question or suggestion, please leave a comment below!

Cheers, Helene Malmsio

"Power Tips" magazine is back!
You Get A Free Complete Self Help Report delivered to your email box every edition, plus you get a free PLR article and other great gifts!

SUBSCRIBE BELOW ...  I promise you will want to USE what you learn!

I really want to know what you think of this site, this page, and to hear your tips or suggestions about it.

So please share your story or simply add a Comment in the comment box.

If you feel that the information on this page has been useful to you please give it a Like or share it with your friends - thanks!!

"You are a life Saver!!

I recently discovered this site and I can tell you that my life has not been the same. I now come here EVERYDAY and spend at least 1 hour.

I used to spend that time browsing online fashion and beauty magazine which just means that I spend more. Now I have replaced that habit with coming here.

In future I will think about contributing articles as well. Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!! and God bless"

Contact Us | About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | FAQ | Testimonials

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.