Partner Spotlight: Mutual of America’s 3 Questions for Evaluating Your Financial Security
United Way NEXT is proud to partner with organizations that share our commitment to strengthening the nonprofit community and the greater United Way network!
Today we’re featuring an article from our Mentorship Program Sponsor, Mutual of America, highlighting 3 questions you can ask yourself to determine where you stand on saving for retirement and what financial security looks like for you. Paired with their recent webinar Strengthening Your Retirement Plan: Key Considerations for Nonprofit Leaders, we hope these insights support you in your retirement planning journey and empower you to make the best decisions for your future!
Security can mean a lot of different things. It might mean making certain your home is protected by a security system or taking steps to keep your personal information safe online. But when was the last time you thought about your financial security? Right now is a good time to revisit your retirement savings plan to help you stay on track for a more financially secure future. To start, below are three questions to help you determine some helpful next steps.
A photograph pulled from the original Mutual of America article published in 2025.
1. How much have you saved so far?
Do you know how much you currently have saved for retirement? You can find out by clicking on the Mutual of America website's My Account tab, entering your sign-on information (username and password) and completing authentication. Then, you'll be able to view your balance to see where you stand in your savings journey. If you have additional retirement accounts from prior employers, don't forget to include those amounts in your calculations. You could also consider consolidating those assets into your Mutual of America account, if possible. From there, you can use Mutual of America's Retirement Readiness calculator to better understand what your current retirement savings and per-paycheck contribution could add up to when it comes time for you to retire.
2. Where is your portfolio currently invested?
When checking in on your account, you'll also want to review how your retirement savings are allocated to ensure you have the proper asset allocation that reflects your goals, objectives, needs and time horizon. It's important to have a diverse mix of savings and investment options in your portfolio—such as bonds, stocks and cash equivalents—in order to minimize risk and protect your account from market volatility. Not sure what the right mix is? Take a few minutes to complete Mutual of America's Investment Questionnaire to help you determine the mix of investments that aligns with your risk tolerance and investment experience.
United Way NEXT Partner Spotlight event replay (May 2026)
3. Do you have a long-term financial plan with a short-term budget you can stick to?
An important step to take now is to set up a financial plan by identifying your long-term retirement goals and then reviewing your overall budget to see if there are any opportunities to cut excess spending and save more for retirement. To put your budget plans in perspective, you may want to use these worksheets from mymoney.gov.
Information and interactive calculators are made available to you as self-help tools for your independent use and are not intended to provide investment advice. We cannot and do not guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regard to your individual circumstances. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes only. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues.
If you haven't already, we highly recommend watching Strengthening Your Retirement Plan: Key Considerations for Nonprofit Leaders featuring Mutual of America and Local United Way member UW of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. Whether you’re sponsoring a retirement plan for your organization or planning for your own, we’re invested in your future!
And we’re not the only ones! Both Earl Jones Jr., Vice President of National Accounts, and Ross Bukouricz, Controller of UWGMWC, have offered to answer any questions that you might have. Plus, Mutual of America provides a range of free educational tools and resources in their Learning Center.
If you have any questions about Mutual of America’s products and services or would like to know more about their retirement planning education, please email Earl at Earl.Jones@mutualofamerica.com. And if your organization is interested in partnering with United Way NEXT, we'd love to hear from you too!