You should begin planning for retirement today; even though retirement may seem to be a long way off, it isn't! You may think that your employer or the government will provide the funds to help you through retirement, but this is not typically the case anymore. Employer-sponsored retirement benefits are changing, being reduced, or being eliminated altogether; and the future of government programs, particularly Social Security, is uncertain (and this is an optimistic viewpoint). Even if Social Security is still available when you retire, it probably will not provide enough money for you to survive on. You need to be aware of these changes in employer-sponsored retirement benefits and government programs and plan accordingly.