You'll need money outside of Social Security to pay your living costs in retirement. Those benefits will only replace about 40% of your pre-retirement earnings if you bring home an average wage, so you'll want to supplement that income to help ensure that you don't wind up cash-strapped throughout your senior years. And that's where your personal savings come in.

If your company offers access to a 401(k) plan, it often pays to sign up. Not only are 401(k) plans pretty seamless to fund given contributions are taken automatically as payroll deductions every pay period, but many employers also match worker 401(k) contributions to some degree. The result? Free money for your retirement.

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Source Fool.com