Your Benefits at Work: Are You Saving a Little or a Latte?
Wellness
We all know how important it is to save for retirement – that’s why Transocean provides you a couple of tax-advantaged savings options, including the:
- 401(k), also known as the U.S. Savings Plan, HSA
- HSA
Transocean believes that saving for retirement is so important that the company matches 200% on up to 5% of eligible compensation you contribute to your 401(k). And if you choose the HSA medical option, the company also contributes funds annually into that account, so your health care savings can go farther and grow over the long term – even into retirement.
Are you saving enough?
Now you know the ways Transocean helps you save, are you making the most of your savings opportunities? Use the chart below to see how your current savings stack up.
If you’re not meeting the 401(k) match and contributing 5% of eligible compensation, then you’re definitely leaving money on the table. You’re missing out on the 200% company match that’s automatically vested. If you’re already meeting the match, then your next target is to reach the annual max each year – including any eligible catch up contributions.
Save a latte
If either of those savings goals seems out of reach, then it may be time to look at your spending and find places where you may not be spending as wisely as you can. Finding just $27.40 a day in extra expenses will save you $10,000 over the next 365 days. That could be the difference in meeting the match or even maxing out your contribution. Here’s how:
- Start by tracking every penny you spend each day for at least a week. Write every expense down and note how and where you spent it.
- At the end of the week, review the expenses. You should be able to start seeing some patterns of wasteful spending. Did you get that extra latte after lunch each day instead of grabbing a simple coffee? Did you order in for dinner instead of cooking? Did you buy the brand-name item when the generic would do the trick?
- Challenge yourself to carve out a specific amount of money each day that you’ll save instead of spend. Then multiply that by 365 to see how much you could save over the next year.
Sure, you may not be up to a four-latte-a-day habit where you could find the easy savings. But if you dig deep enough, you could just find enough extra expenses each day to help you max out your retirement savings and be more prepared for the future.