Retirement’s important. It’s something everyone needs to plan for–often much earlier than they actually do. And, unfortunately, it’s not something everyone likes to think about.

Which is why there are all sorts of traps you can fall into that can undermine the security of your retirement. Here’s a few of those traps and how you can avoid them.

1. Don’t Get Complacent

Many people fall into the trap of thinking once they took the initial steps toward retirement, that they’re good for the long run.

If they put in a low savings rate at first when they were making less money, and never adjusted it, they may very well see nice growth in their retirement funds–but not as much growth as they should be seeing.

It’s important to use a retirement income calculator to see if you’re going to hit your retirement goals by the time you need to.

2. Don’t Get Too Emotional

The market goes up. The market goes down. It’s a fact of life, and while we all know this intellectually, sometimes we can be shaken by just how much up and down there is in one little graph.

Just remember to ride it out. Have a relatively static plan that you’re not going to jump the gun on — in either direction — so that volatility doesn’t kill your portfolio.

3. Don’t Forget You Might Have a Long Life

It’s a great problem to have, but it can still be a problem. If you’re only planning for so long after your retirement, and you happen to live much longer than expected–we’re talking 30 years out of retirement–then things could get shaky financially.

Forecast out into the future. You may just live to be 120.

Want to know more about how you can manage your retirement? Call here or check here for more information.