How much do you put away for retirement?

Question

How old are you, how much do you put away per year (both in actual dollars and in terms of % of your salary), and how long do you think you'll need to wait to retire at this rate?

To calm paranoia - No, I am not collecting this information to publish it anywhere. I'm just curious, especially to see if I'm on track with others, but also to see how realistic people are about their goals.

Answer 1

10% or $5000 a year

Answer 2

I suggest you do a whole lot of research of prices of everything, For example: Car price in 1960, today, and the year when you retire. Do you know about inflation rate? Here another example: The place I lived in Greenbelt, Maryland in 1977 cost $310 per month. In 1994 cost $930 per month. Notice the price went 3 times during 17 years. Calculated inflation rate was 6.676 percent per year. A lot of research would at-least give some clues to think how much to put away.

Answer 3

From January to July, I was putting 15% (about 330 pretax) every paycheck (2 week period) into my work 401k. Now I'm only putting away $100 pretax. Since July I was taking another $200 after taxes and putting into a savings account that will eventually fund my Roth IRA. Starting a few weeks ago, I bumped that upt to $300. I'm 1/4 of the way there to the maximum yearly contribution of $4000. I have until April to get it there. I plan on using those two plans until i retire. I hope to retire at 50; this is why my Roth IRA is so important. The company 401k will penalize me if I take out $ before I turn 65. The Roth allows me to pull out my contribution at any time. Only the gains from your investment have to be in until 65 to avoid penalty. All together I have about 6k in work 401k & another $1500 in the savings toward my Roth. If I maintain this pace, next year I should put $2600 pretax & $4000 after taxes to retirement. After I fund my Roth, I want to look into taking the rest of savings I accrue (at 150 a week of savings, I'm looking at putting away almost 8k, while only 4k can go into the Roth) and invest it. But first things first, fund the Roth and I'll take it from there. I'm being fairly ambitious, but the mantra of people my age is "we'll never see a dime from social security."

Answer 4

I put away about 10% of my salary (About $4K) a year, but it is invested so I get an interest rate on this.

They way it is structured, I will have to get close to 65 for a full retirement

Answer 5

I had $67K in my 401(k) before I liquidated it.

I was putting away 15% of salary for a number of years. Towards the end of my job - I was down to 5% and 90% cash portfolio because of uncertain markets. I'm in my late 20's.

Answer 6

Age 33, put 15% of my salary in 401K, max out on the Roth in 2006 for 4000. Comapny match 5%
AT this point, my 401k+roth IRA combined is 75000.00, addition to 30000.00 in the cash account.
AT this rate of saving, I could take it easy as early 50

Answer 7

I put away as much as possible.

Retirement accounts are a way to make money grow tax advantaged. The more you save for retirement, the sooner you can retire, and the better your life can be after you retire.

Answer 8

Early 30s
I save 10% in my 401(k) and I max my IRA ($4,000 a year).

I'd like to be financially independent in my late 50s (I might not retire until early 60s). I feel that I am on track.

Answer 9

10% of my salary per month

Answer 10

Ten percent if you don't have to pay for your own medical coverage and you start early.