Answers to your biggest retirement questions

These questions are commonly asked by readers and are answered by Retirement Specialist Todd Jones with The Principal^®.

I know I need to save more for retirement, but I'm coming close to maxing out my 401(k). What should I do now?

If you're age 50 or older, a catch-up contribution is a great way to boost your retirement savings. These contributions let you defer an additional $5,500 into your employer's retirement plan (if available) once you've reached the 2011 contribution limit of $16,500. Catch-up contributions are due before the end of the plan year.

Age also has its benefits with Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). A catch-up provision allows investors age 50 or older to save an additional $1,000 in 2011 on top of the standard $5,000 limit. IRA catch-up contributions are due by the 2011 federal income tax filing deadline in April 2012.

Why haven't I received my annual Social Security benefit statement?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has suspended mailing statements to all workers and retirees in an effort to cut expenses. All other methods for requesting a statement have also been disabled, such as online and telephone requests. You can still get an estimate of your Social Security benefits, however, by using the SSA's Retirement Estimator at ssa.gov/estimator.

See more from the Summer 2011 Retirement Newsletter:

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