09 Between 2016 and 2020, Americans age 65 and older spent an average of $4,066 per month on household expenses. With increasing cost of liv- ing expenses, many retirees and their families experience an income gap after transitioning out of the workforce and into retirement. For decades, Americans have referred to the “three- legged stool” — Social Security, employer-spon - sored pension plans, and personal savings — as the model for financial security in retirement. With fewer employers offering pension plans and uncertainty around the long-term avail- ability of Social Security, today, there is a greater emphasis on personal savings to sustain retirees through their retirement years. Articles on the tax advantages of using a defined contribution plan, like the IAM National 401(k) Fund, to save more the closer you get to retirement are avail- able from reliable industry sources, including the Internal Revenue Service. To encourage sav - ing more for retirement, especially as you get closer to retirement age, the IRS allows partici - pants age 50 or over to defer thousands of dol- lars more than the annual IRS elective deferral limits in place for that year. These types of con - tributions are commonly referred to as “Age 50 Catch-Up” contributions. BRIDGING THE GAP TO RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY such as your mailing address, phone number, and email address, to keep you informed of changes to the benefits or services we make available. If you do not participate in an annual open enrollment period, setting a reminder to check your retirement health and readiness at the same time you schedule your annual well- ness exams, or every quarter when you receive other financial statements, could help you establish and maintain a retirement readiness routine maintenance plan. Pull out your calen - dar, pick a date, and set a reminder to complete retirement readiness checkups on a recurring schedule that fits your needs. Your retirement readiness routine mainte - nance plan, like your retirement journey, is unique to you! Document how you want your retirement savings managed when you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself; save copies of your elections in a safe place for future reference and keep your account infor - mation up to date, especially with the Benefit Funds Office, so that you worry less and enjoy retirement more!