--- title: Retirement Saving Doesn't Have to Be So Stressful description: Having enough money for retirement is a top money worry, even among millennials. Here are tips to grow your 401(k) with less stress. authors: - name: Dan Kadlec url: https://money.com/author/dan-kadlec/ at_money_since: 2014 articles: 146 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Career Advice - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Personal Finance - Taxes former_staff: true published: '2016-08-11T17:25:55.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T03:15:50.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - 401(k)s - Personal Finance - Retirement - Saving word_count: 555 canonical: https://money.com/retirement-saving-doesnt-have-to-be-so-stressful/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![160811_RET_SavingsStress](https://img.money.com/2016/08/160811_ret_savingsstress.jpg) The retirement savings crisis in America is easy to understand from at least one perspective: Most people find building a nest egg to be stressful, and to cope they may avoid it altogether. The anxiety is found among all ages, according to a Schwab [survey](https://aboutschwab.com/images/uploads/inline/Schwab_401k__Participant_Study_2016_deck.pdf) of 401(k) plan participants. Four in 10 cited building adequate retirement savings as a significant source of financial stress—ahead of the 24% naming job security, 21% naming paying off credit cards, and 20% naming keeping up with monthly expenses. Millennials are no exception. Even though they have three decades or more before retiring, 38% said saving for that moment is a major source of stress—ahead of the 29% struggling to keep up with monthly expenses, 26% dealing with credit card debt, and 24% stressed about student loans. Savers overwhelming accept that they must take responsibility for their own financial future: Nine in 10 say they are relying mainly on their own efforts. This suggests a broad understanding of the poor condition of our pension system—an understanding that probably goes deeper than that of our presidential candidates who are either [avoiding the issue](https://money.com/trump-clinton-retirement-security/) or fixating on Social Security. The candidates are missing a big chance to score with voters: 77% in the Schwab survey said saving enough to retire is a major public policy issue. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has only a slight edge over Donald Trump (52% vs. 48%) in terms of which candidate is seen as better on pocketbook issues, Schwab found. Workers are committed to their 401(k) plans. In the first quarter, just 1.1% of plan participants stopped contributing, according to a [report](https://www.ici.org/pdf/ppr_16_rec_survey_q1.pdf) from the Investment Company Institute. Only about 5% made any investment changes, suggesting most savers understand the value of staying the course over the long haul. But 17% have 401(k) loan balances, ICI found. That elevated level has been constant since the Great Recession. Nine in 10 workers call a 401(k) a “must-have” benefit, Schwab found. Yet about half in a plan feel it is impossible to save enough in the plan to secure a comfortable retirement, and only about half feel they are managing their plans well. Those are troubling numbers considering that for 59% of workers their 401(k) is their largest or only source of retirement savings. Defined contribution plans hold a quarter of all retirement savings and a tenth of all individuals’ financial assets, ICI found. How can you more easily manage this vital savings account? Schwab found that a third of plan participants have either cut or never increased their contribution rate. Try raising your contribution rate by 1% or 2% of pay every year until you are saving 12% to 15% of pay. Even better: Put this feature on autopilot. Schwab also found that a third say they cannot cut lifestyle options like dining out or vacations in order to save more. Try paying your future self—that is, your retirement accounts—first. Set a budget based on after-contribution income—and do not fill in the gaps with credit cards. Finally, just 10% of plan participants are using professional 401(k) advice. Most workers are in plans that have begun to offer some kind of no-fee counseling. Check with your benefits department. You likely have an independent source of online advice, and increasingly the opportunity for a free face-to-face meeting with an adviser. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-saving-doesnt-have-to-be-so-stressful/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Retirement Planning", "item": "https://money.com/retirement-planning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Retirement Saving Doesn't Have to Be So Stressful" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-saving-doesnt-have-to-be-so-stressful/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/retirement-saving-doesnt-have-to-be-so-stressful/", "name": "Retirement Saving Doesn't Have to Be So Stressful", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2016-08-11T17:25:55.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-saving-doesnt-have-to-be-so-stressful/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-saving-doesnt-have-to-be-so-stressful/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-17T03:15:50.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Retirement Saving Doesn't Have to Be So Stressful", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/08/160811_ret_savingsstress.jpg", "width": 2106, "height": 1405, "caption": "160811_RET_SavingsStress" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Kadlec", "url": "https://money.com/author/dan-kadlec/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/dan-kadlec/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2012/01/5336549112.jpg?quality=85&w=640&h=640&crop=1" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2016-08-11T17:25:55.000Z", "description": "Having enough money for retirement is a top money worry, even among millennials. 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