How to build retirement security without an employer match

No employer match, no one auto-enrolling you in anything. Here are five ways to build lasting retirement income anyway. Most retirement advice starts with a sentence that doesn’t apply to you: “First, make sure you’re getting your full employer match.” As a real estate agent, you don’t have one. No HR department is auto-enrolling you in anything. Whatever gets set aside for your future has to be a decision you make yourself, out of income that isn’t the same amount two months in a row. This is a different problem than the standard retirement one, and it needs a different plan. Step 1 clears the mental blocker everything else runs into. After that, these aren’t a checklist to work in order. You don’t need a SEP or a Solo 401(k) in place to start building cash value or a savings habit. Steps 2 through 5 stand on their own. Start wherever fits your situation right now. 5 tips for building retirement 1. Stop measuring yourself against a 401(k) benchmark that was never built for you Most retirement rules of thumb assume a steady paycheck and an employer plan sitting there by default: Save 15 percent of every paycheck, max out the match, increase 1 percent a year. You have neither. Compa...