[How to Save Enough for Retirement]
4. Think bigger. While many retirement models use a standard 80 percent income replacement rate to project how much workers should save for retirement, Olivia Mitchell, director of the Boettner Center for Pensions and Retirement Research at the University of Pennsylvania, says that's not enough. She recommends aiming for a 100 percent replacement rate instead. "Many boomers have been thinking of doing different things in retirement—things that cost money. They're not sitting on the front porch on a rocking chair; they're volunteering, traveling … and healthcare costs are likely to be a lot higher in the future, as well," she says.
5. Don't forget Uncle Sam. According to the Michigan Retirement Research Center, married college graduates—people who are otherwise among the most prepared for retirement—often forget to consider just how much of their retirement income will be going to Uncle Sam. Only 3 in 4 people in this group are prepared for retirement after taxes are taken into account; otherwise, 92 percent report being ready.
6. Minimize fees and maximize returns. Investing fees can take a big bite out of returns; the think tank RAND calculates that even just a 1 percentage point difference in annual fees adds up to $3,380 after 10 years on a $20,000 account balance. Check up on the fees you're currently paying and consider moving into index funds or other types of funds with lower fees.
Finding your number might be intimidating, but it can also provide some much-needed motivation to make a retirement savings plan—and stick with it.
Twitter: @alphaconsumer
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Dude McGruber of ID 9:50PM October 07, 2012
Dude McGruber of ID 9:30PM October 07, 2012
Fanni of PA 2:40PM February 15, 2012