How much can you save for retirement?

[stella7]

You may know that if you want to live comfortably in retirement you have to save for it, whether it's through personal investments, company-sponsored retirement savings plans, or both. But what you may not know is how much you need to save. The rule of thumb is that you'll need 70-80 percent of your pre-retirement income on an annual basis. That means if you're making $50,000 when you retire, you'll need an income of at least $35,000-$40,000 every year after you retire.

[nangel78]

I just maxed out my 401K contribution and working on paying off my debt.

[SageMother]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stella7

You may know that if you want to live comfortably in retirement you have to save for it, whether it's through personal investments, company-sponsored retirement savings plans, or both. But what you may not know is how much you need to save. The rule of thumb is that you'll need 70-80 percent of your pre-retirement income on an annual basis. That means if you're making $50,000 when you retire, you'll need an income of at least $35,000-$40,000 every year after you retire.

Makes you wonder about all those folks who lost their retirement savings due to mismanagment...can we say Enron?....or because their companies went bakrupt and trashed their retirement accounts.

Are there safety nets for people who rely on their employer's being honest only to find themselves with nothing to show for all their disciplined retirement saving?