You could miss out ‘free money’ if you wait to save for retirement [Video]

If you don’t start setting aside money for retirement by the time you turn 40, you may need to rethink your long-term plan.

By that age, funneling more into your retirement investment accounts down the road may not be enough to spend your post-work years the way you imagine, says Anne Lester, a retirement expert and author of “Your Best Financial Life: Save Smart Now for the Future You Want.”

At 40, “you really have to start thinking about solving this challenge with more than just figuring out how to save more,” she tells CNBC Make It. “You either have to keep earning money or you have to stop consuming or radically change what you consume during retirement.”

That may involve making bigger changes to your retirement lifestyle, such as downsizing your home, moving somewhere with a lower cost of living, not traveling as much or even working longer.

“You’re taking choices away from future you if you …