7 secrets to a richer retirement #2 Try to beat the other guy

Thanks to their natural competitiveness and normal, comparing yourself to others that you can increase the speed of your goals - just look at TV's The Biggest Loser.

This strategy has the potential defined in retirement planning. Preliminary studies suggest that people who see data showing how their peers are saving are more likely to participate in their company retirement plans and to put more money in.

Thanks in part to these findings, a financial services company ING has recently created a website that allows eligible people to some 401 (k) plans that manages to compare their progress against their colleagues.

So far over 20% of people who have spent time with the tool you have made a positive change, and adherence to the plan or raise the percentage of salary to contribute, says Ashley Agard, head of research at the company's retirement.

Your coworkers can be powerful in another way too: they can put pressure on you to accomplish your goals. strategies called compromise, in which people publicly announce their intention to reach a target, generally are effective for those wishing to lose weight or stop smoking.

Now researchers are looking at how well they work to help increase savings. In 2008, Yale professors Ian Ayres and Dean Karlan StickK.com launched a free site that allows users to make a commitment to public or private, to virtually any type of goal.

To increase the pressure even more, users can bet money on the outcome. Researchers need more data to show how well the approach works commitments related to retirement, but early results are encouraging.

Now put these findings into action:

Benchmark
You can get INGcompareme.com, a public Web site managed by ING. There you compare your financial situation - anonymously and free - with about 140,000 others who have the same age, income, and other details.

The level of savings to fall short? Move! You're way ahead? Great, but just because you're hitting your colleagues do not necessarily mean that you will achieve your goals, warns Jack VanDerhei, research director of the Research Institute of Employee Benefits.

Make a commitment contract
You could do anything to tell some friends about your goal of saving and ask for your support - perhaps meeting once a month - to make a bet on the audience you will reach a specific level of savings for a certain period of time . You can pass through its promise of social media like Facebook or Twitter.