Don't Worry, Be Ready

With a toddler at home and a baby on the way, Layla Masri, a 33-year-old Web-design-firm president, has a lot on her mind while standing in line at the grocery store. Remember the diapers. Paint the baby's nursery. Start holiday shopping. Plan for retirement. Hmmm, can't that one wait? "It's hard to think about what you'll need at sixty or seventy when you have so many other imminent day-to-day responsibilities," she says.

Even the most money-savvy moms often neglect retirement planning, says Harold R. Evensky, chairman of the financial-planning firm Evensky & Katz. "It's hard for a working mom to find the money to sock away, as well as the time to chart her future." But consider this: Your retirement is likely to last almost as long as your working life. People are living longer; plus, the future of Social Security is looking less secure. So start now, with our three-step plan: