Most financial institutions offer educational opportunities for its members, and MERS is no different. MERS offers numerous events throughout the year focusing on topics such as financial wellness, retirement planning and MERS plan overviews. Additionally, we offer a Video Library of our previously recorded webinars, and customized benefit education offered through your employer virtually or in-person. Take advantage of these opportunities to learn, ask questions and prepare yourself for life after employment.

If you’re more than 20 years away from retirement, you may be asking yourself if you really need to start saving now to fund your post-employment years. The answer is YES! Life expectancy continues to rise and you may live in excess of 30 years in retirement – that’s a lot of years to fund! The good news, by starting early, small actions can have a big impact on your retirement savings.

One of the most important financial steps you can take at this time in your life is to have a budget. Not only will this help you to better understand where your money goes each month, it will also help you clearly see your spending habits and address savings gaps.

But, having a budget is only helpful if you stick to it and review it often. This Financial Goals Worksheet can help you get started.

It is not unusual for people in this phase of life to have debt – whether it’s a mortgage, car payment, student loans, credit cards or a combination of those things. The most important thing is to have a plan to pay it off.

Use your budget to determine how much you can afford to put toward your debt payments each month, and see if there are any areas you can reduce expenses to accelerate debt payoff.

Check out more tips to manage and eliminate debt.

An emergency fund is money that’s been set aside to cover any of life’s unexpected events. This money will allow you to live comfortably for a few months should you happen to lose your job or if something unexpected comes up that will cost a fair chunk of money to cover.

Check out more tips to build your emergency fund.

It’s important to ensure you have applicable insurance policies such as health, auto and homeowners or renters. In addition, life insurance – for you, your spouse and any dependents – can be invaluable in the event of an unfortunate emergency. Many workplaces offer group life insurance options, but if that isn’t available for you, it is recommended that you consult your insurance provider or a financial planner to see what your options are.

Check out this Webinar for more information on the types of insurances available and what coverage you may want to consider.

You may have designated beneficiaries for your retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and similar assets when you opened your account(s), or you may not have. To ensure that your assets will be distributed as you intend, double check to ensure you’ve made those designations and periodically review them to make sure they are current and correct.

For more information on adding or updating beneficiaries to your MERS plan(s), click here.