Target-date funds are designed to automatically shift investments to become more conservative as you age. But these fix-it-and-forget-it funds are hardly one size fits all. A Watson Wyatt analysis of various target-date funds showed that allocations to equities for employees 10 years from retirement varied widely—from 40 percent to 80 percent. And on the day of retirement, equity allocations ranged from 20 to 65 percent. Ask your plan administrator how much of your fund is invested in the stock market at various ages. If that's not a level of risk you can live with, pick a different fund.
More New Year's resolutions for retirement:
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