Retirement readiness

“Having retirement assets in both traditional and Roth accounts can help clients hedge their tax bets for retirement,” an expert says.

Mutual funds and ETFs are often created with lopsided or unequal allocations toward certain sectors of the economy, experts warn.

Aside from income taxes, retirees will also pay consumer taxes and may face a 3.8% Medicare surtax.

Pre-retirees may consider funding a Roth account to take advantage of tax-free compounding and tax-exempt withdrawals in retirement, an expert writes.

Clients can void overspending by seeking out sales and discounts to lower their food and entertainment costs.

While it’s recommended they have at least three sources when they retire, just 6.8% of savers have done so, according to a report.

"Since no one has a crystal ball to predict what will happen, I advise saving money on both sides of the tax fence," an expert says.

While retirement readiness among Americans has improved in general, Gen Xers are struggling with housing, college and medical costs, a survey finds.