Two savers who each set aside the same amount every month can end up with very different results if one starts ten years earlier than the other, even if the later starter eventually contributes more money in total. The gap comes from compounding: interest earned in early years goes on to earn its own interest for decades afterward, while money contributed later has less time to repeat that process. Financial advisers sometimes call this the cost of waiting, a cost that shows up nowhere on a statement because it is measured not in money lost but in growth that never had the chance to happen.
Based on the passage, a saver who starts contributing at age twenty-five rather than thirty-five would most likely
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Correct answer to question 80 (Paragraph Comprehension): benefit from a longer period of compounding on early contributions
Method
The passage says interest earned in early years goes on to earn its own interest for decades, so starting a decade earlier gives contributions more time to compound, which is the benefit described.
Updated: November 2026
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