BRYAN, Texas — Just like many other things during the pandemic, the coronavirus put a pause on some people’s retirement plans.
Slightly different from the economic recession more than a decade ago, this pandemic is shining light on some people’s financial instability.
“I think it really highlighted how unprepared people really are. You shouldn’t have been worried about that 30% drop that week, they should be worried they didn’t have a plan to begin with. So this is kind of a wake up call I think, especially since we’re back up at the levels we were before, let’s evaluate where we are and make some changes," said CPA owner of Charter Accounting Deborah Daniel.
Saving money can prove to be difficult when your income is changing by the day, which may push back the long-term goal of retirement.
“COVID or no COVID, most people when they retire, only about 11 percent have enough in a retirement account to come close to even what they had income wise. There aren’t enough people saving enough, period," said Daniel.
Retirement plans vary from person to person but the concept of saving remains the same.
“The most important part of it is what you spend. So if you don’t spend that much money, you can retire very early and if you spend a lot of money and you don’t have much, then it’s way later. So spending really is the key," said Briaud Financial Advisors President Janet Briaud.
The coronavirus outbreak has caused some people to look at their finances differently, but both experts remind you that if you haven’t started saving, now is the time.