Starting to save too late

The earlier you start saving, the more time you have for your money to grow for you with the help of compound interest. For every dollar saved at age of 20, you earn $5.84 by the time you leave the workforce at age 65, according to the Vanguard Group. If you start saving at age 45, every dollar is the equivalent of $2.19 by retirement.

Read also: Ready for Retirement? Not Until You Can Answer These 7 Questions

Collecting Social Security benefits too early

The earliest you can start collecting Social Security benefits is at age 62, but your monthly checks will not be as high as the ones you’d get if you wait until you reach your full retirement age.

According to a MassMutual Retirement Services study presented by Tom Foster, national spokesperson at MassMutual Financial Group, individuals who take carefully thought-out steps, such as determining when it’s the most opportune moment to claim Social Security, “targeting how much money they would need to afford retirement and increasing savings, report feeling more financially secure in retirement.”