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Okay, When Do I Really Need to Start Saving for Retirement?

No matter how old you are, the most honest answer to that question is today. The challenge of saving enough for a secure, protected life and a comfortable retirement is too great to wait. You will need a lot of money.

You may want to accumulate more than a million for retirement. Reaching that figure could take some time, assuming you have steady income and can save a percentage of your salary. But it will take more than saving 10% of your income during the last 10 years of your career. You may need more than that amount. You need to sit down and run the numbers to see where they lead based on your expectations.

The Power of Compounding.

A dollar contributed to your retirement savings 40 years before retirement will grow to almost $15 by the time you retire if you invest at a reasonable 7% rate of return. That is the power of compound returns. Over thirty years, the contribution will grow to a little more than half that amount. Money you save early in your career has far more power than money you save later.

How Much Are You Saving?

If you begin saving consistently for retirement 40 years before you retire, you may accumulate enough by saving less than 10% of your salary. If you wait until age 30 to start saving, you may need to save 10% of your income. It is difficult to say here, however, without considering the lifestyle you want in your dream retirement. The assumption is that you will try to lead a frugal, quiet life.

If you wait until 20 years before retirement, you may be unable to accumulate as much by saving 20% as you could have a decade earlier by saving 10%. If you wait until ten years before retirement, reaching even a modest goal that allows you to live with dignity will be virtually impossible.

Social Security

For those who retired before the turn of the millennium, Social Security represents an important part of retirement. With benefits indexed to inflation, they are unlikely to notice a significant decline in their benefits' purchasing power during their lifetime. Someone retiring now will probably notice that their benefits do not buy as much as they did twenty years ago.

The conclusion, of course, is that retirement savings are more important for future retirees than they were for current retirees. No matter your age or when you plan to retire, you will be better prepared if you begin saving for retirement today.

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