According to the America's Federal Reserve System (FRS) only 37% of all non-retired adults believe that their retirement savings are actually on track. It can be difficult to know where to start and, even more daunting, is the idea of ending up underprepared. One of the best things you can do is to look to financial planning services for that first step. Next, we recommend identifying what not to do. It might sound odd, but if you know exactly what to avoid doing then you'll stay one step ahead when planning your retirement.

With that in mind, read on as we talk you through some of the top mistakes that are often made when deciding on a retirement strategy.

1.     Quitting your job too early

As soon as you settle into a new job, it's likely that some kind of pension scheme or employer contribution will start to be made on your behalf. Details of these monetary pledges can be found on your payslip. This process often occurs through a vesting programme which means that you don't have full ownership of these funds until you have reached a certain number of years of employment. Don't quit your job until you know exactly what you have to do in order to benefit from this contribution, or weigh up whether it's worth leaving these funds on the table to make your next career move.

2.     Cashing out too early

When you leave a job, you'll sometimes have the opportunity to withdraw any contributed funds from your employee's pension plan. Unless it's completely unavoidable, this can be a huge mistake. Instead, we recommend rolling this sum over into an alternative retirement plan and continuing to save for your future.

3.     Retiring too early

There are two main disadvantages of an early retirement. First of all, the earlier that you choose to retire, the less time you will have had to save and contribute to your pension. Secondly, this will have a direct effect on your Social Security payouts. The age at which you retire will ultimately dictate the size of your payout. For example, if your full retirement age is 67 but you decide to retire at 63, you should expect your monthly benefit amount to be reduced by 30% compared to the full-age amount.

4.     Losing track of workplace pensions

Finding out which provider your workplace pension is with may sound like an unnecessary step, but without doing this, you won't be able to monitor how they're performing. Having a vague idea of where your pension is accumulating may feel sufficient, but in the long term you could run the risk of losing out or forgetting about some pension altogether. This could also lead you to falling victim to some hidden pension charges along the way, which may cause your pot to decrease over time.

5.     Relying solely on your pension

It's best practice not to assume that your employee pension plan will be enough to sustain you in the future. By relying on your pension alone, it's likely that you will struggle or your money won't stretch as far as you'd like. To avoid this disappointment, look to make smart investments alongside your pension to ensure that you will be more than comfortable when you eventually retire, and be able to continue living life to the fullest.

6.     Relying solely on property

Whilst investing outside your pension is recommended, only opting for property-based ventures can also end up proving to be a mistake. Concentrating your investments all into one area is a bit like putting all of your eggs in one basket, and will leave your savings at the mercy of just one market. If said market crashes, then that will determine your entire future. Instead, we recommend spreading your money across several areas of investment, to give you a little bit of added security.

7.     Being in denial about retiring

Whether you want to believe it or not, we all have the retire at some point. You could have the best job in the world, but when you start hitting your late 60s you may find that you're ready to call it quits. Operating on the assumption that you will simply never retire and keep on working regardless of age is just silly. Whilst you may end up giving up work later than your peers, it's inevitable that you will need a tidy sum of money to fall back on. It's unrealistic to think that you will work indefinitely as you can't predict what health problems or changes of attitude you may experience