If you play your cards right, your most valuable asset in retirement will not be your home. It won’t even be the guaranteed lifetime income stream from Social Security, valuable though that “asset” may be — assuming the Social Security system stays solvent, of course.
Rather, your most valuable asset in retirement will likely be your IRA. Surprised? Most people think of IRAs as trifling little accounts because the maximum annual contribution is just $4,000, or $5,000 for people over 50. Saving $4,000 a year won’t make you rich — in fact, it won’t even prepare you adequately for retirement. But your IRA at retirement could end up holding far more than those annual contributions (which, it must be emphasized, do add up and should not be abandoned).
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Financial Bliss 