Exerts from an article by Rachel L. Sheedy on MSN Money

If you are thinking about retirement, the following may keep you from it.

You’re not saving in a retirement plan- When starting a new job, one of the first benefits to ask about is the company retirement plan. If your employer doesn’t have one — or you just want to set aside more money — you can save in an IRA. If you’re self-employed, you have retirement-plan options, too, such as the solo 401k. Regardless of the route you take, saving in a retirement plan allows your money to grow free of tax and compound more quickly.

You didn’t start saving early in your career- Don’t overlook the role that time plays in compounding your savings.

You are neglecting the company match- Many employers will match a certain amount of your savings in the company retirement plan. If you don’t contribute — or don’t contribute enough — to the plan to earn the match, that’s additional compensation you’re throwing out the window

You used your nest egg as a piggy bank- Taking a loan from a company retirement plan can be very costly.

You cashed out when switching jobs- Even if you have just a small amount in a company retirement plan, cashing out when you switch jobs can be detrimental to your nest egg in the long run.

You’re not saving enough- Many employers will automatically enroll you in the company retirement plan at a default contribution rate (generally 3 percent of your pay). Some company plans offer “automatic escalation,” incrementally increasing your savings rate over time. If you don’t increase your savings rate well beyond the default, you will have a hard time building a sizable nest egg.

You haven’t played catch-up- Starting at age 50, you get an opportunity to turbocharge your retirement nest egg with higher contribution limits. And that can help late savers play catch-up.

You saved for kids’ college instead of retirement- You may want to put some money toward college savings, but don’t shortchange your own future.

You haven’t created a retirement budget- If you don’t know how much you might spend, it will be hard to know whether you have saved enough by the time you’re eager to stop working.

You haven’t planned to maximize Social Security benefits- Waiting until at least full retirement age — that’s 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954 — to claim Social Security gets you 100 percent of your benefit, and waiting until age 70 scores you an extra 32 percent a month, plus cost-of-living adjustments, for the extra four-year wait.