Investing for Survival---6 mistakes investors make in planning for retirement.

 Investing for Survival

            6 mistakes investors make in planning for retirement

1. I didn't save enough for retirement, and I spent more than I should have in my peak years. "You should be saving significant amounts in those peak earning years as you get closer to retirement. People see their salaries go up, and they continue to spend instead of save. People have been living beyond their means, and their retirement expectations are not realistic."

2. I leveraged myself too much during my peak earnings year. "People go out and live on credit cards," says Kehoe. "It's a terrible way to spend and live." Those who use home equity to buy a car or take a vacation often regret it, he says. "People are losing focus in that they should be saving. They over-leverage themselves and borrow too much. I teach this to all my kids. If you can't afford to pay a card off at the end of the month, you can't afford to be buying on the credit card."

3. I retired too early. The two problems with retiring too early: "You have less (time) to save, and you have a longer period of retirement that you have to provide yourself for with an inflow of income," Kehoe says.

4. Why did I take that money out of my IRA or 401(k)? "To take money out of your plan at an early age is a real killer, because that dollar you take out in your 20s compounded over 30 or 40 years, could grow into a significant amount. It's in your plan; leave it there."

5. I thought Social Security was supposed to provide for me. "A lot of people have the perception that Social Security would take care of them," Kehoe says. "It was originally part of a three-legged stool — your pension, your own savings and Social Security. People put their stock and faith in the Social Security system. Even if you believe in the Social Security system, demographically it's a bad time. When it was put in place, it was supposed to pay people at just about the expected age of death. More and more people are counting on it more and more. Ten employees were supporting every one retiree; now its three employees supporting every one retiree. There are more people on retirement and less people to pay for the system."

6. I was a picture of health in my middle age. "As we get older, the strain on our bodies increases," Kehoe says. "You can't keep up with things. It surprises a lot of people what the cost of good medical care can be. We do rely on government to take care of us, but there are outside expenses the government won't pay for. Consider long-term care insurance or some sort of supplementary insurance."