The analysis above does not consider Social Security. For those who will rely on Social Security for a major portion of their retirement income, the numbers above may be too high. But, before you shrug off the numbers above, consider whether you're willing to rely on Social Security payments as a major part of your retirement income. It should suggest some areas which each of us should consider. If you're young, you have a big advantage since you can start early and enjoy the benefit of compounding.
Decisions here have a significant impact on the results.
Many of us would prefer not to give up the activities or things we find very enjoyable, such as traveling or a special evening out. Rice encourages faculty and staff to become involved in the management of their retirement accounts through workshops and materials made available at no cost by representatives of both TIAA-CREF and Fidelity.