You might have heard retirement income referred to as the three-legged stool. It is because traditionally retirement income has come from 3 resources: pensions, Social Security and your own retirement savings. Well, the three-legged stool is looking pretty lopsided for many individuals nowadays as pensions become extinct and Social Security changes take place.

Previously, pensions were a typical benefit offered by companies, and individuals were able to depend on getting a decent pension benefit after they retired, particularly if they worked for a company for twenty, thirty or even forty years. Today, with people living longer, pension benefits are too costly for companies to consider, so pensions were replaced with 401K plans, as well as no retirement benefits at all. While our parents and grandparents had the advantage of a life-time income stream with a pension, younger generations will have to look for other options for retirement income.

Social Security still comprises a large percentage of people's retirement income today, however we're continually being bombarded with stories about how Social Security will be broken in the near future if we don't fix it, so expect changes down the pipeline. Changes you can expect to see include having to wait longer to collect benefits, and reduced benefits. We have already seen the total retirement age creep up; expect it to continue to go higher to help keep Social Security profitable. Most finance experts don't expect Social Security to actually go away, but there'll be changes, so you will not be in a position to rely on Social Security just as much as your parents and grandparents did.

Given the lack of pensions as well as the expected changes in Social Security, which means that you'll need to depend on your personal savings for retirement more than ever. As a result, it is necessary that you have a better understanding about how precisely to save for retirement. Take on the time to understand about getting a 401K, when you can take Roth IRA withdrawals, how you can diversify your portfolio for both investment and tax purposes, so you can take advantage from your retirement savings.

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