Apr. 27: BEST OF THE BLOGOSPHERE
April 27, 2026
The sooner you start saving for retirement, the better: Motley Fool
Writing for The Motley Fool, Kailey Hagen notes that the earlier you start your retirement savings efforts, “the more investment earnings you’ll have to rely upon.”
How much you save, she explains, “is an understandably important piece of the puzzle – but not the whole story.”
“When you begin saving for retirement has a huge impact on whether you’ll reach your savings goal on schedule,” she writes. “While many don’t begin saving for retirement until their 30s or later, the earlier you start, the easier it will be to save what you need for retirement. Your earliest savings are often your most valuable because they’re invested the longest. That can yield a significant amount of investment earnings to supplement your personal contributions,” she continues.
Her article contains a table showing how much money would accrue for someone who saved $200 monthly with an average annual return rate of eight per cent.
If someone started putting away $200 a month at age 60, they’d have $14,080 by age 65, the story explains.
Someone doing the same thing but starting at 50 would save $65,165 by the same age, the article adds.
At age 40, the same rate and frequency of savings would result in a total of $175,454 at 65; starting at age 30 you would have $413,560, the article notes.
But the keener who started at 20 would have a whopping $927,613 by their 65th birthday, Hagen reports.
“The example illustrates the importance of saving for retirement as early as possible,” she continues. “Sometimes, people feel that they’re better off waiting until they’re earning more and can afford to make larger contributions. But this could backfire. The longer you wait to begin saving, the more personal contributions you’ll need to make to reach your goals,” she adds.
“Make regular contributions as soon as you’re able to, even if they’re small. Contributing $25 or $50 every pay period might not seem like much, but it can really add up over time. Then, as your income increases, you can boost your retirement contributions to help you reach your savings target more quickly,” Hagen advises.
Many financial commentators feel that automating your contributions – having money directly transferred, perhaps on pay day, to your savings account – is a “set it and forget it” way of building savings. The argument is that the money is in your retirement piggy bank before you have a chance to spend it.
The Saskatchewan Pension Plan is automation-friendly. SPP allows pre-authorized contributions to be made from your bank account or credit card (PAC-PCC-application.pdf).
Once SPP receives your contributions they are invested in our professionally managed, low-cost pooled fund, where they will grow until it’s time for you to collect them as income. When that happens, your income options will include a lifetime monthly annuity payment or the flexibility of the Variable Benefit.
Check out SPP today!
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Written by Martin Biefer
Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing and classic rock, and playing guitar. Got a story idea? Let Martin know via LinkedIn.
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