Ideally if you start saving for retirement when you first leave school and begin earning. That is as soon as you can. And it's quite clear because the sooner you begin saving, the more time your money has to grow. Each year's interest can generate its own interest the next year. It is talked of a powerful wealth-building phenomenon known as compounding.

A few words about how much you should save. The standard advice is as much as you can. Most of financial planners recommend us to save from 10% to 15% of our income for retirement, starting in our 20s. But of course that is just a general recommendation. You need to estimate how much roughly you will spend in retirement. So the best way is to establish your own savings target at first. It will help you to understand how much you should set aside in the meantime to meet your retirement goals.

If you are young and can't save enough money right now, don't be despondent. Your income will grow if you progress in your career, and it will allow you to save more after a while. You might also have some other opportunities to increase your savings rate. Anyway try to discourage as much earnings into savings as you can.

When you invest for retirement, you have three main options. You can put the money into a retirement account which is offered by your employer. You can put the money into your own tax-advantaged retirement account or into a regular investment account that does not have tax advantages. And of course you can reinvest the money in order to bring your asset allocation where you want it.

Certainly a secure and comfortable retirement is a dream of every ordinary working person. Now we are living longer, healthier lives, and we expect to spend more time in retirement than our parents or grandparents did. Achieving the dream will be much easier if you plan your finances.