When’s the best time to invest for retirement? Now.
Should you start saving for retirement? Unless you are on one of those richest-people-in-the-world lists - then the answer is, most likely, yes.

Give compounding time to shine
If the magic of compounding interest isn’t enough to get you going right away, there is one other chart that should do the job.
If someone starts saving 6% of their paycheck at age 25, they are expected to end up with more money at age 65 than someone who contributes 10% starting at age 40. And here’s the real kicker - the person who’s doing 10% starting at age 40 will put in more of their own dollars, and is still expected to end up with less by the time they reach age 65. How is that possible? The 6% contributions had more time to grow – more time to roll down that hill gathering speed – or in this case – money.
Starting sooner than later really pays off

Balances were estimated assuming a starting salary of $50,000 with 3% annual increases and an annual investment return of 6%. Balances were calculated net of a 0.25% management fee. Assumption for starting at age 25: 6% of annual salary contributions. Assumption for starting at age 40: 10% of annual salary contributions.
Not illustrative of actual client performance, which may vary. Investing involves risk. The investment performance is not attributable to any actual Betterment portfolio nor does it reflect any specific Betterment performance. Hypothetical examples are for illustrative purposes only, and market conditions can and will impact performance.
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