BY JOHNNY CARSON

We sometimes forget that retirement is not a 20th century invention. With the relatively recent introduction of IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions, its easy to lose sight of the fact that people have always looked forward to, and planned for, retirement.

In fact, 2,000 years ago, Roman statesman Cato the Elder wrote, Cessation of work is not accomplished by cessation of expenses. Apparently, people have been pondering their retirement income since ancient times.

Our ancestors worked, raised families, educated children, owned property and retired - and they did it without the benefit of Social Security. Only in the past 60 years have we come to rely on Social Security for our retirements. The fact is, for generations, peopleÕs nest eggs were entirely homegrown.

For a moment, lets assume Social Security did not exist. How would you fund your retirement?

First, without the mandatory Social Security deductions, youd have a bigger paycheck to work with. But, it doesnt take a lot of money to save a lot of money.

Look at what you could do with just $5.50 a day. Thats all it takes to make a $2,000 annual deposit into an IRA. Some people prefer to pay themselves first and have the amount deducted from their paychecks each month. Which option suits you, almost any American worker can save in this way.

Its easy to see how small does of saving can amount to a comfortable retirement income when you play a little game of what if.

What if, over a 20-year period, a responsible worker invested $2,000 each year and averaged an 8 percent return annually (this return is for illustration purposes only and is not indicative of actual returns currently available)?

Each April 15, this worker would file has income tax return and also pay himself $2,000, which he then invested. At the end of 20 years, his account would have totaled $100,479.

What if, instead of waiting until April 15 to invest, our hypothetical worker invested his $2,000 every Jan. 1? The total value of his retirement account would be $111,124. Those extra months of compounding added $10,645 to his account.

So, with just $5.50 a day, our American worker accumulated more than $111,000 for his retirement next egg. And he did it without Social Security.

This what-if story has a happy ending for two reasons: First, our worker took his future into his own hands. Second, he needed only a little money and a lot of time.

You can accomplish similar results. Each year, working Americans dedicate millions of dollars to personal retirement plans such as IRAs or 401(k)s because of the limitations and uncertainty of Social Security. They realize that, historically, personally investing in the future of American enterprise is a surer approach to a secure retirement. DBJ

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