5 toxic traits that could quietly derail your retirement — are you sabotaging your future with bad habits?

If you think that could happen to you — or if you haven’t given your retirement much thought at all — here are five things to look out for to stop unhelpful retirement habits in their tracks.

Assuming you’ll have time to save for it later

If you’re still young, retirement might feel a million miles away. But perhaps the most common retirement mistake is to put off your retirement savings for later.

“Start saving as early as possible because you have the beauty of compound interest,” Carolyn McClanahan, a CFP told CNBC.

Because of compound interest, you’re not just earning money off of what you put in your account initially: Your interest earns interest, too. That means, over time, you’ll earn significantly more money the longer you allow your investments to mature.

Starting to save for retirement in your 20’s can significantly increase your retirement funds compared to waiting until your 40’s. In fact, 45% of Americans still say they wish they would have started saving earlier in life.

Storing your retirement fund in a savings account

There’s such a thing as being too risk averse.

Investing can be overwhelming. It can be easy to avoid investing altogether by ditching retirement accounts in exchange for high-yield savings accounts.

But while HYSAs are excellent vehicles for things like emergency funds, they aren’t a great fit for retirement funds because they don’t offer nearly as good returns as a retirement account does over time.

Even with a HYSA, you’re still barely outpacing inflation, depending on your bank. With a retirement account, you can expect to see a return of at least 7%. The S&P 500 is up nearly 12% this year, as of writing.

In addition, many retirement accounts offer tax advantages you just can’t get with savings accounts. Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) allow your money to grow tax free, while 401(k)s and 403(b)s allow pre-tax contributions that lower your taxable income.

Putting off your retirement planning

It’s possible to set yourself up for failure even with a sizable retirement fund if you put off making a retirement plan.

Before you retire, you should know how much money you’ll need each year — and decide when and how much to withdraw from your savings.

Keep in mind that your healthcare costs will likely increase in retirement. According to Merrill Lynch, a 55-year-old couple should expect to pay more than $1 million in healthcare costs during retirement.

If you don’t figure out your budget in advance, you could end up withdrawing too much, too soon, leaving you without needed funds later in retirement. Also consider the mix of investments you will allocate the rest of your money to, such as bonds and stocks, and how much you will dedicate to each.