Does it feel like the coronavirus pandemic has pushed all your retirement plans by the wayside? If you recently lost your job or had a reduction in income, you're probably not thinking about your long-term future and retirement plans right now. Instead, you're focused on surviving from one day to the next.

But when you get back on your feet again, don't panic or start thinking that all is lost when it comes to retirement planning. You can get things moving in the right direction again. While there are no easy answers or quick fixes in these uncertain times, here are 12 ways you can shore up your retirement plan and get it back on track.

Make Catch-Up Contributions If You Can

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Thanks to the demise of traditional pension plans, most people are responsible for accumulating the bulk of their own retirement savings. One way to optimize your savings is to make catch-up contributions in addition to your regular 401(k) or IRA contributions. Basically, if you're age 50 or older, you can contribute more than younger people to your retirement accounts so that you can "catch-up" on retirement savings before you reach retirement age.

For 2020, 401(k) contributions are limited to $19,500 for most people, but if you're 50 and older, you can make an additional catch-up contribution of $6,500 this year. That means older savers can contribute up to $26,000 in a 401(k) plan in 2020.

With an IRA, the maximum amount you can contribute for 2020 is $6,000 if you're younger than age 50. However, people age 50 and older can add an extra $1,000 per year as a catch-up contribution, bringing the maximum IRA contribution to $7,000.

Maximizing your retirement contributions with catch-up