Saving for retirement: Anything is better than nothing

PHILADELPHIA -- Kevin Grubb has his eyes on his financial future. The 30-year-old has been saving since he was 24. Grubb works in the career center at a university outside Philadelphia and saw what happened in the great recession, when 57 percent of Americans say they used up some or all of their retirement savings.

"I felt it would be a good idea to get started as soon as I could, knowing that if I have the longevity, by the time I was an older age, maybe I would be closer to being more comfortable with retiring," said Grubb.

Americans have put away more than $24 trillion for retirement. But more than 30 percent still say they have no retirement savings or pension at all.

It's never too late to start building or adding to a nest egg, according to Sarah Holden, head of retirement research at the investment company Institute.

"It is easy to get intimidated or scared," Holden said. "But the thing to do is realize you have your whole career to work on it. And you can build your nest egg little by little, paycheck by paycheck."

If you're able to sock away $25 a week - assuming moderate growth in a retirement fund - within 10 years you'd save more than $15,000. In 15 years you'd have more than $25,000. And by 20 years your savings would be more than $37,000.

From the day he got his first job, Grubb has put aside at least 10 percent of his paycheck even though he's still paying off his student loans.

"Saving for retirement is something I don't want to compromise for a short-term pleasure or joy," said Grubb. "So I've been able to prioritize it and I want to keep doing it."

But it doesn't have to be 10% of your salary. Financial advisers say the important thing is to put aside something regularly. Anything is better than nothing at all.