Job Description and Job Specification

Job Analysis is a primary tool to collect job-related data. The process results in collecting and recording two data sets including job description and job specification. Any job vacancy can not be filled until and unless HR manager has these two sets of data. It is necessary to define them accurately in order to fit the right person at the right place and at the right time. This helps both employer and employee understand what exactly needs to be delivered and how.

Both job description and job specification are essential parts of job analysis information. Writing them clearly and accurately helps organization and workers cope with many challenges while on board.

Though preparing job description and job specification are not legal requirements yet play a vital role in getting the desired outcome. These data sets help in determining the necessity, worth and scope of a specific job.

Job Description

Job description includes basic job-related data that is useful to advertise a specific job and attract a pool of talent. It includes information such as job title, job location, reporting to and of employees, job summary, nature and objectives of a job, tasks and duties to be performed, working conditions, machines, tools and equipment to be used by a prospective worker and hazards involved in it.

Purpose of Job Description

• The main purpose of job description is to collect job-related data in order to advertise for a particular job. It helps in attracting, targeting, recruiting and selecting the right candidate for the right job.
• It is done to determine what needs to be delivered in a particular job. It clarifies what employees are supposed to do if selected for that particular job opening.
• It gives recruiting staff a clear view what kind of candidate is required by a particular department or division to perform a specific task or job.
• It also clarifies who will report to whom.

Job Specification

Also known as employee specifications, a job specification is a written statement of educational qualifications, specific qualities, level of experience, physical, emotional, technical and communication skills required to perform a job, responsibilities involved in a job and other unusual sensory demands. It also includes general health, mental health, intelligence, aptitude, memory, judgment, leadership skills, emotional ability, adaptability, flexibility, values and ethics, manners and creativity, etc.

Purpose of Job Specification

• Described on the basis of job description, job specification helps candidates analyze whether are eligible to apply for a particular job vacancy or not.
• It helps recruiting team of an organization understand what level of qualifications, qualities and set of characteristics should be present in a candidate to make him or her eligible for the job opening.
• Job Specification gives detailed information about any job including job responsibilities, desired technical and physical skills, conversational ability and much more.
• It helps in selecting the most appropriate candidate for a particular job.

Job description and job specification are two integral parts of job analysis. They define a job fully and guide both employer and employee on how to go about the whole process of recruitment and selection. Both data sets are extremely relevant for creating a right fit between job and talent, evaluate performance and analyze training needs and measuring the worth of a particular job.

Writing Effective Job Descriptions

                                               Is very important to write effective Job Descriptions

Job descriptions should be concise, clear, and correct. They also should follow a consistent format.

The format and style for writing job descriptions might be different from any other type of writing that you do in your job. Writing job descriptions is not a complex process, but it requires following a basic format and including specific components.

What the terms mean

Before you begin writing job descriptions, it's helpful to understand the common terms used in job descriptions:

• Job is a basic term that describes a set of duties and responsibilities performed by one person or multiple people.
• Position is a job held by one person.
• Responsibilities are major areas of accountability and are the primary functions of a job.
• Duties are functions that the jobholder performs to meet the job's responsibilities. For example, a recruiter has the responsibility to recruit job candidates; the recruiter performs the duty of interviewing to find qualified job candidates.
• Tasks are specific activities that jobholders perform to accomplish larger duties and responsibilities. For example, a jobholder might perform the task of inputting general ledger entries into the accounting system as part of the larger responsibility of maintaining the organization's financial accounting system.

Gather information

To write an effective job description, you should first gather relevant job information. A good starting point is existing job description and job analysis information from within your organization. Excellent external sources include thumbnail descriptions used in high-quality salary surveys, job postings in newspapers and periodicals, job database Web sites, and the U.S. Department of Labor's Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

Be sure to adapt existing content to the specific functions and requirements of your organization and to the particular job that you are describing.

Job Description Basics

Job descriptions (JDs) are typically one to two pages in length. They include six key elements:

• Job title
• Job summary
• Key responsibilities
• Minimum job requirements
• Physical requirements
• Environmental Conditions
• Disclaimer

General Tips for Writing Job Descriptions:

• Use clear and concise language.
• Use examples to clarify words that have multiple meanings.
• Avoid unnecessary words such as "the," "an," and "a."
• Avoid employee names; use job titles instead.
• Don't use proprietary names (for example, Xerox and FedEx).
• Don't refer to organization-specific terms or divisions that change frequently or are not understood outside the organization.
• Avoid gender-based language such as "he" and "she."
• Don't include the reporting relationships for nonexempt jobs in which jobholders might report to several different people.
• Describe the job as it currently exists, not how it might be in the future.
• Revise job descriptions after organization-wide or department reorganizations, not before the reorganizations.
• Don't write job descriptions to incorporate hidden agendas such as on-the-job perks or bonus eligibility.

Job Title

The first step in writing an effective JD is developing the title for the job. The job title should accurately reflect the type of work performed (for example, "clerk," "processor," or "analyst"). It should also indicate the level of work being performed (for example, "senior analyst", or "lead accountant").

Job titles in your organization should correspond to similar jobs in the industry. You should also ensure that the job titles are compatible with your organization's culture.

Tips for Developing a Job Title

• Don't exaggerate or inflate job titles. For example, use the job title "janitor" instead of the inflated "sanitary engineer."
• Avoid potentially discriminating job titles that refer to age, gender, or race. For example, avoid using titles such as "girl Friday" and "salesman."
• Avoid demeaning job titles such as "helper."
• Consider whether the job title will be used in more than one department. For example, you might need to decide whether "accounting manager" or "manager" is a more appropriate job title.
• Consider practical limitations on the job title, such as the length of a job title field (for example, "Human Resources Information System").

Job Summary

A job summary describes the primary reason for and function of the job. It also provides an overview of the job and introduces the job responsibilities section.

The job summary should describe the job without detailed task descriptions. Its length should range from one sentence to a paragraph, depending on the complexity of the job.

Example of a Job Summary

A job summary for a human resources director might be the following: Manages human resources function and day-to-day human resources management activities throughout organization, including employee recruiting, orientation, compensation, benefits, and related programs. Manages all HR functions, staff, and HR department budget.

Key Responsibilities

The key responsibilities of a job are the essential functions that the jobholder performs. The key responsibilities section of the JD should include an overview of the job's essential functions that describes the basic aspects of the job and its primary responsibilities. JDs should include only higher-level responsibilities — minor task descriptions provide too much detail for the scope and purpose of JDs.

Begin each job responsibility with a present tense action verb, and describe the area of responsibility in action terms. Normally, there will be 7 to 10 responsibilities, depending on the job.

Examples of Key Responsibilities

• Develops marketing programs directed at increasing product sales and awareness.
• Writes programming code to develop various features and functionality for commercial software products.
• Designs and develops user interfaces for commercial software products.
• Supervises technical support employees in providing technical support to organization clients.
• Manages development of advertising and various marketing collateral materials.

Tips for Writing Key Responsibilities

• Use a telegraphic style (implied subject, verb, object, explanatory phrase) in which the implied subject is the jobholder and the explanatory phrase tells why, how, where, or how often the jobholder performs the task — for example, "Operates computer and peripheral equipment to obtain information for requesting departments."
• Exclude responsibilities that do not account for at least 5% of the work unless they are critically important.
• Arrange responsibilities in a logical order, such as the sequence in which they are performed, their relative importance, or the percentage of time each responsibility takes.
• Incorporate relevant information such as level of independent judgment, physical and mental effort, contacts, work complexity, equipment, and supervisory responsibilities.
• Include information regarding the frequency of the task and/or the percentage of time spent performing the task.
• Use words, sometimes called "level cutters," to differentiate levels of the same job family. Typical level cutters relate to education and training, work experience, ingenuity, physical and mental effort, consequences of errors, and working conditions and potential hazards.
• Identify functions that are essential, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Minimum Job Requirements

This section describes the minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are required to perform the job. Recruiters and human resources personnel use KSAs to guide recruiting efforts and determine whether candidates are minimally qualified.

To determine the minimum requirements of a job, ask yourself what the job candidate needs to possess in terms of:

• Education — the type and minimum level, such as high school diploma and bachelor's degree.
• Experience — the type and minimum level, such as three to five years of supervisory experience, five years of editing experience, and two years of experience with content management systems.
• Special skills — such as languages spoken and computer software proficiency.
• Certifications and licenses — such as industry certifications and practitioners' licenses.

Remember to list only the minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the job, not the ideal attributes you look for in a candidate.

Examples of Job Requirements

The job requirements for an accounting manager might include the following: Requires BS/BA degree in accounting or business administration, plus a minimum of four years' experience in either public accounting or professional-level corporate accounting (alternative to BS/BA in accounting/business administration requirement is MBA degree or CPA experience). Must have experience managing fixed assets accounts, depreciation schedules, account reconciliation, GAAP, and managerial accounting. Must be detail-oriented and have solid understanding of financial and managerial accounting concepts.

Tips for Writing Job Requirements

• Avoid arbitrary requirements that are difficult to validate.
• Include only the minimally acceptable requirements. Do not inflate requirements.
• Be specific and realistic about the necessary requirements.
• Do not consider the particular education, experience, or skill level of current jobholders. Include only what the job requires.
• Indicate why each requirement is necessary to perform the job. Relate the requirement to how and why the job is done (for example, "ability to read and comprehend instruction manuals to remedy minor equipment malfunctions").

Physical Requirements

The physical requirements section describes the physical demands and environment of the job and lists the basic physical conditions needed to perform the job. This section should also list specific physical requirements such as lifting heavy objects and standing for long periods of time.

Examples of Physical Requirements

The physical requirements for a freight delivery job might include the following: Requires ability to rapidly and constantly lift large and heavy packages and boxes and to repeatedly load and unload large boxes throughout shift. Must have ability to safely lift minimum of 50 lbs. without assistance and to push and pull up to 150 lbs. with appropriate equipment. Requires significant demands on these physical requirements throughout entire work shift and requires tasks to be performed in all types of weather conditions.

Disclaimer

All JDs should include a disclaimer that clearly states that the JD is only a summary of the typical functions of the job, not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks, and duties. 

Disclaimers should also state that the responsibilities, tasks, and duties of the jobholder might differ from those outlined in the JD and that other duties, as assigned, might be part of the job. Some organizations, jobholders, and labor unions interpret the language of JDs literally. Therefore, it is important to include a disclaimer.

Review and Approve Job Descriptions

Review your JD before distributing it. If the JD was written by an external source, it is advisable that a management-level employee or a few jobholders in the relevant department also review the JD.

JDs should be approved by human resources staff members and line or staff management. If a review process does not exist, create one. Periodic reviews of JDs are also necessary — review every two or three years for accuracy.

Make Job Descriptions Work

Creating effective JDs can improve the human resources processes in your organization and give clarity to job candidates and job holders. JDs can also be helpful for performance reviews and compensation strategies. Focus your efforts on developing accurate JDs that include the six key components and are clear, concise, and consistent across your organization. By developing effective JDs, you can make your organization's compensation strategy successful.

Contribution Doug Sayed

Job Analysis: How do I conduct a job analysis to ensure the job description actually matches the duties performed by the employee in the job?

Job descriptions are used for a variety of reasons. They are a tool for recruiting, determining salary ranges and levels or grades, establishing job titles, creating employee’s job goals and objectives, and conducting performance reviews. They can also be used for career planning, creating reasonable accommodations and meeting legal requirements for compliance purposes. Because of this, it is very important to have written job descriptions that accurately reflect the employees’ current job duties and responsibilities.

Employers should audit their job descriptions every few years, usually in conjunction with a compensation study and whenever the organization’s purpose, mission or structure changes. One way to audit or create job descriptions is to conduct a job analysis. Job analysis is the process of gathering, examining and interpreting data about the job’s tasks and responsibilities. It generally includes tracking an employee’s duties and the duration of each task, observing the employee performing his or her job, interviewing the employee, managers and others who interact with the employee, and comparing the job to other jobs in the same department and job grade or job family. 

An important concept in job analysis is that it is an evaluation of the job, not the person doing the job. The final product from a job analysis includes a thorough understanding of the essential functions of the job, a list of all duties and responsibilities, a percentage of time spent for each group of tasks, the job’s relative importance in comparison with other jobs, the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) needed to perform the job, and the conditions under which the work is completed.

There are many ways to perform a job analysis, but all require the cooperation of the employee in the position, his or her manager(s) and others the employee must work closely with while performing his or her job duties.  

The following steps will help provide the best analysis of a particular job:

1.  Involve employees by having them complete job analysis forms.

2.  Interview employees, asking them specific questions about their job duties and responsibilities.

3.  Obtain log sheets from employees with information about each of their tasks and the time spent on each task for at least one full work week.

4.  Complete desk audits where you observe employees doing their jobs at different times of the day and days of the week and track what they do and for how long.

5.  Interview supervisors and managers, and other employees, clients and customers the employee may interact with while performing the job.

6.  Compare the job to other jobs in the department as well as the job grade or job family to show where it falls on the pay scale.

If there is more than one person doing the same job, make sure to observe and obtain feedback and information from more than one person. You will want to review your findings with the employees who do the job as well as their supervisors and managers to tweak your findings until you have an accurate reflection of the job duties and responsibilities. 

Nikki Sixx and his loves...

Nikki Sixx was born under his real name Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna, Jr., on December 10, 1958, and yes he is 54 years old, and well preserved...

Nikki Sixx is an American musician, songwriter, author, fashion designer, radio host, and photographer, best known as the co-founder and bassist of the band Mötley Crüe.

Here are some of his past & current women in his life...

Nikki Sixx & Lita Ford (1980's)

Nikki Sixx & Vanity

Nikki Sixx & former Playboy Playmate Brandi Brandt (They had 3 children, and today older son, Gunner, have a band named Figs Vision)

Nikki Sixx & another former Playboy Playmate & Baywatch star Donna D'Errico (They had a daughter)

Nikki Sixx & Tatoo Artist Kat Von

                                                                                                        

Nikki Sixx & his current girlfriend Courtney Bingham (They are engaged)

                                                                                           

What an Emotionally Mature Man Looks Like

Have you ever dated a great guy who seems like he’s got “it all together,” only to find out weeks or months later that he’s really more of a boy than a man? If so, you know trying to build a relationship with an emotionally immature guy is like trying to build a house out of cards. Having a fulfilling, honest, loving long-term relationship is hard enough with two grown-ups. If one partner isn't capable of really showing up, it won’t work

Wouldn't it be great if you could identify the guys who were mature enough to be a good partner before wasting a bunch of time and getting physically and emotionally involved? So let me ask you. Do you know what an emotionally mature man look like? How does he act? How does he respond to conflict?

Here are 5 telltale signs of an emotionally mature man.

1) He’s Decisive

 Have you met guys who just can’t seem to make a decision? They waffle, they stress, they can’t seem to make up their minds. The emotionally mature guy has no problems making decisions about life, relationships and commitments without wavering or stressing out. He’s clear about wanting to be with you and he’s clear about what he wants with a woman and in a relationship. He doesn't go “hot and cold.”

2) He Takes Responsibility

 If you hear a man complaining about things in his life, blaming others and generally experiencing a lack of control, he’s not just unlucky, he’s lacking maturity. The mature man is nobody’s victim. He takes responsibility for his actions. You’ll rarely see him whine, and he doesn't blame others when things go wrong. Instead he’s in service to making things right.

3) He Has a Higher Purpose

 You know those guys who are absolutely passionate about their work or their cause? This is a sign that they’re more emotionally mature than the guys whose lives revolve solely around themselves. The mature man has a purpose in life greater than himself. If you see that a man is committed to a larger purpose, it’s a safe bet that he’s done “the work.”

4) He Has Close Relationships

 The best true signal of how a man will handle his relationship with you is how he relates to others he’s closest to. Look at his relationships. What are his friendships like? Sure he has “buddies,” but does he have intimate friendships? The mature man is comfortable being truly close and open with others in his life.

5) He’s Capable of Expressing Himself

A mature man doesn't just stuff his feelings down inside. He doesn't always come right out and say it, but he can explain his feelings, his choices, and his likes and dislikes. If he can’t express what he’s thinking, or gets frustrated, irritated, or mad at you for wanting to communicate and share feelings, then you’re dealing with an emotionally immature man.

The mature man can express what’s going on in his heart and mind without outbursts or withdrawal. If you seem to attract emotionally immature guys, pay attention to the signs of a mature man so you can avoid repeating the pattern.

When you get involved with an immature guy, and try to deal with and make things work with him, your life will get messy and you’ll start acting immature as well. Immaturity is contagious. If you pay attention, you will quickly and easily begin to see the signs of emotional maturity (and also the LACK of those signs) so you can make the best possible choice for yourself.

You deserve a fulfilling, long-lasting relationship with a man who’s ready and willing to do his part in creating a great relationship. He should be able to “show up” with you.

What we Do Without Real Love: Imitation Love

If we don’t have enough Real Love in our lives, the resulting emptiness is unbearable. We then compulsively try to fill our emptiness with whatever feels good in the moment—money, anger, sex, alcohol, drugs, violence, power, and the conditional approval of others. Anything we use as a substitute for Real Love becomes a form of Imitation Love, and although Imitation Love feels good for a moment, it never lasts and never gives us the feeling of genuine happiness that Real Love provides.

Most people spend their entire lives trying to fill their emptiness with Imitation Love, but all they achieve is an ever-deepening frustration, punctuated by brief moments of superficial satisfaction. All the unhappiness in our lives is due to that lack of Real Love and to the frustration we experience as we desperately and hopelessly try to create happiness from a flawed foundation of Imitation Love. 

The beauty of Real Love is that it ALWAYS will eliminate our anger, confusion, and pain. So how do we find this universal cure?

A New Definition of Love: Real Love

There’s only one kind of love that can fill us up, make us whole, and give us the happiness we all want: unconditional love or true love. It is unconditional love that we all seek, and somehow we intuitively realize that anything other than that kind of love isn't really love at all—it’s an imitation of the real thing.

Unconditional love—true love—is so different from the kind of love most of us have known all our lives that it deserves both a name—Real Love—and definition of its own: Real Love is caring about the happiness of another person without any thought for what we might get for ourselves. It’s also Real Love when other people care about our happiness unconditionally. It is not Real Love when other people like us for doing what they want.

Under those conditions we’re just paying for love again. We can be certain that we’re receiving Real Love only when we make foolish mistakes, when we fail to do what other people want, and even when we get in their way, but they don’t feel disappointed or irritated at us. That is Real Love (true unconditional love), and that love alone has the power to heal all wounds, bind people together, and create relationships quite beyond our present capacity to imagine.

Real Love: The Love We’ve All Been Looking For — Unconditional Love

We've heard songs about it, seen it in the movies, heard it talked about on Oprah by relationship experts, and read about it in thousands of self help books. But, what is unconditional love? We all want to feel loved. We think about it, hope for it, fantasize about it, go to great lengths to achieve it, and feel that our lives are incomplete without it. The lack of unconditional love is the cause of most of our anger and confusion. It is no exaggeration to say that our emotional need for unconditional love is just as great as our physical need for air and food.

It is especially unfortunate, then, that most of us have no idea what unconditional love really is, and we prove our ignorance with our horrifying divorce rate, the incidence of alcohol and drug addiction in our country, the violence in our schools, and our overflowing jails.

Our misconceptions of unconditional love began in early childhood, where we saw that when we did all the right things—when we were clean, quiet, obedient and otherwise “good”—people “loved” us. They smiled at us and spoke in gentle tones. But we also saw that when we were “bad,” all those signs of “love” instantly vanished. In short, we were taught by consistent experience that love was conditional, that we had to buy “love” from the people around us with our words and behavior.

So what’s wrong with conditional love? We see it everywhere we look, so what could be wrong with it? Imagine that every time you pay me fifty dollars, I tell you I love you. We could do that all day, but at the end of the day would you feel loved? No, because you’d know that I “loved” you only because you paid me. We simply can’t feel fulfilled by love we pay for. We can feel loved only when it is freely, unconditionally given to us. The instant we do anything at all to win the approval or respect of other people—with what we say, what we do, how we look—we are paying for the attention and affection we receive, and we can’t feel genuinely loved.

Las 10 Mejores Maneras de Prepararse para la Jubilación - Cortesía United States DOL

La seguridad financiera en la jubilación no ocurre por sí sola. Se necesitan planificación y compromiso y, sí, también dinero.

Datos

• Menos de la mitad de los ciudadanos estadounidenses han calculado cuánto necesitan ahorrar para su jubilación.
• En 2010, el 30 por ciento de los trabajadores de la industria privada con acceso a un plan de aportes definido (tal como un plan 401(k)) no participaron.
• El ciudadano estadounidense medio pasa 20 años en la jubilación.

El ahorrar dinero para la jubilación es una costumbre que todos podemos tener. Recuerde…¡Ahorrar Sí Importa!

1. Comience a ahorrar, siga ahorrando y mantenga sus objetivos.

Si ya está ahorrando, ya sea para su jubilación u otro objetivo, ¡siga haciéndolo! Usted sabe que el ahorro es un hábito compensador. Si no está ahorrando, ha llegado el momento de comenzar a hacerlo. Comience con poco si es necesario e intente aumentar la cantidad que ahorra cada mes. Cuanto antes comience a ahorrar, más tiempo tendrá su dinero para crecer (vea el cuadro a continuación). Haga del ahorro para la jubilación una prioridad. Cree un plan, manténgalo y establezca objetivos. Recuerde, nunca es demasiado temprano o demasiado tarde para comenzar a ahorrar.

2. Conozca sus necesidades de jubilación.

La jubilación es cara. Los expertos estiman que necesitará acerca del 70 por ciento de sus ingresos previos a la jubilación – para las personas asalariodos bajos, el 90 por ciento o más – para mantener su estilo de vida cuando deje de trabajar. Asuma la responsabilidad de su futuro financiero. La clave para una jubilación segura es planear de antemano. Comience por solicitar Su dinero y futuro económico: Una guía para ahorrar y, para quienes estén próximos a jubilarse, Cómo resolver el misterio de la planificación de su jubilación. 

3. Contribuya al plan de ahorro de la jubilación de su empleador.

Si su empleador ofrece un plan de ahorro para la jubilación, tal como un plan 401(k), inscríbase y contribuya todo lo que pueda. Sus impuestos serán más bajos, su empresa tal vez aporte más y las deducciones automáticas facilitan el proceso. Con el tiempo, los intereses compuestos y los impuestos diferidos hacen mucha diferencia en la cantidad que usted logre acumular. Entérese de su plan. Por ejemplo, cuánto tendría que contribuir para obtener la contribución integral del empleador y cuánto tiempo tendría que permanecer en el plan para obtener dicho dinero.

4. Infórmese sobre el plan de pensión de su empleador.

Si su empleador tiene un plan de pensión tradicional, averigüe si usted está cubierto por el plan y cómo funciona. Pida un estado de cuenta de beneficios individual para conocer cuánto vale su beneficio. Antes de cambiar de empleo, averigüe qué ocurrirá con su beneficio de pensión. Averigüe qué beneficios puede tener de un empleador anterior. Averigüe si tendrá derecho a beneficios a partir del plan de su cónyuge. Para obtener más información, solicite Lo que usted debe saber… sobre su plan de jubilación. 

5. Considere principios de inversión básicos.

Cómo ahorra puede ser tan importante como cuánto ahorra. La inflación y el tipo de inversiones que realice tienen un papel importante en cuánto habrá ahorrado al jubilarse. Conozca cómo se invierten sus ahorros o plan de jubilación. Conozca las opciones de inversión de su plan y haga preguntas. Coloque sus ahorros en distintos tipos de inversiones. Al diversificar de esta forma, es más probable que reduzca el riesgo y mejore el retorno. Su combinación de inversiones puede cambiar con el tiempo dependiendo de una serie de factores como su edad, sus objetivos y sus circunstancias financieras. La seguridad financiera y los conocimientos financieros van de manos dadas.

6. No toque sus ahorros de jubilación.

Si retira sus ahorros para su jubilación ahora, perderá capital e intereses y podrá perder beneficios tributarios o tener que pagar multas por el retiro. Si cambia de empleo, deje sus ahorros invertidos en su plan de jubilación actual o transfiéralos a un IRA o al plan de su nuevo empleador.

7. Pídale a su empleador que inicie un plan.

Si su empleador no ofrece un plan de jubilación, sugiérale que inicie uno. Hay una serie de opciones de plan de ahorro para la jubilación disponibles. Es posible que su empleador pueda iniciar un plan simplificado que pueda ayudarle tanto a usted como a su empleador. Para obtener más información solicite una copia de Choosing a Retirement Solution for Your Small Business. 

8. Invierta dinero en una Cuenta de Jubilación Individual.

Usted puede depositar hasta 5,000 dólares anuales en una Cuenta de Jubilación Individual (IRA, por sus siglas en inglés); puede contribuir más, incluso, si tiene 50 años de edad o más. También puede comenzar con mucho menos. Las IRAs también brindan ventajas tributarias.

Al abrir una IRA, tiene dos opciones – una IRA tradicional o una IRA Roth. El tratamiento tributario de sus contribuciones y retiros dependerán de la opción que seleccione. Asimismo, el valor después de impuestos de su retiro dependerá de la inflación y del tipo de IRA que elija. Las IRAs también pueden proveer una manera fácil de ahorrar. Usted puede establecerla de manera tal que se descuente una suma automáticamente de su cuenta corriente o de ahorro y que dicha suma se deposita en la IRA.

9. Averigüe sobre sus beneficios de Seguro Social.

El Seguro Social paga beneficios que son, en media, equivalentes a alrededor del 40 por ciento de lo que usted ganaba antes de jubilarse. Podrá estimar su beneficio utilizando el estimador de jubilación en el portal de la Administración de Seguro Social. Para obtener más información, visite su portal en Internet o llame al 1.800.772.1213.

10. Haga preguntas.

Mientras estos puntos son significadas para señalarle en la dirección correcta, necesitará más información. Lea nuestras publicaciones enumeradas en el panel del dorso. Hable con su empleador, su banco, su sindicato o un asesor financiero. Haga preguntas y asegúrese de comprender las respuestas. Obtenga consejos prácticos y actúe ahora mismo.