Planning for your future can feel scary. Can I afford to save for retirement? How much risk am I willing to take? Which investment fund options will help me reach my goals? To help you with these decisions, Publix offers you resources on the 401(k) SMART Plan website.
Save more by starting early
The first step is to start saving, even if you haven’t set retirement goals yet. The earlier you enroll in the SMART Plan, the more time your savings have to grow. The money you save is invested to earn you more money, and those earnings are reinvested to help you earn even more money! It’s called compounding. So, the earlier you begin investing in your future, the more money you can have for your future. Visit www.publix.org > Financial Resources > 401(k) SMART Plan to get started today.
Decide how to invest your money
Once you’re enrolled, you get to decide how your money is invested. The SMART Plan offers 10 asset classes with 12 investment fund options. Think of asset classes like the departments in your Publix store. Investing your money in only one asset class is like shopping in only one department, which most people wouldn’t do. You have the potential to miss out on opportunities.
Diversification of your money in multiple asset classes helps reduce potential risks and helps protect your SMART Plan account from the stock market’s ups and downs. It also improves your opportunity to achieve long-term growth.
Set your goals
You’ll need to set goals to make sure you’re contributing the right amount for your future. How much you should contribute, which investment fund options you should choose and when you can retire all depend on what you want for your future. Your current age, income and savings, when you plan to retire and how much money you’ll need at retirement all play an important part.
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The SMART Plan website offers an interactive planning tool called myOrangeMoney, which allows you to test different retirement ages and financial scenarios to evaluate your retirement options, see the impact and set goals. Visit the 401(k) SMART Plan website, and you’ll land on myOrangeMoney after logging in. |
- Verify your personal details. Click About Me to make sure your age/birthday and annual pay (click Unhide) are correct, and make any necessary updates.
- Add your other income and investments. Click Other Income Sources > Other Income to add the current value of your PROFIT Plan account, current value of Publix stock you’ve purchased through the Employee Stock Purchase Plan or any other income or investments you have.
- Find out if you’re on track. myOrangeMoney will quickly show if you’re on track to meet your goals or if there’s a gap in the amount of money you may need for retirement. If you have a gap, use the slidebars to see how changing your 401(k) contribution, retirement age or investment style/rate of return on your investments impacts the gap.
- Make a change. If you choose to change the amount you contribute to the SMART Plan, just click the Make Change Now button.
Wait…there’s more!
The Education and Tools tab of the SMART Plan website provides you with even more information. There you’ll find links to articles, calculators and videos designed to help you reach your savings and retirement goals.
So don’t wait. Start planning for your future today by visiting the 401(k) SMART Plan and checking out all it has to offer.
