So many of our clients come to us to help them answer the question: “How much do I need to retire?” And here at SageSpring, we love retirement planning because it’s such a unique process for every single family that we serve. Sure, there’s plenty of retirement calculators out there that help you get a general idea of how much money you should save, but your retirement planning shouldn’t start and end with a simple calculation. In fact, retirement planning is so much more than saving for a specific number.
How much money you need to retire is different for everyone and depends on your specific retirement goals. Are you planning on traveling? Do you hope to pay off your home? Are you planning on setting up a family trust or leaving behind a large sum of money to your kids and grandkids? What about healthcare coverage? All of those things need to be considered when you’re trying to decide how much to save for retirement.
So today, we’re going to answer a few questions you might be asking yourself when it comes to retirement, like how much you should be saving each month, how much money you need to retire, and what impacts your retirement.
How Much Do I Need To Retire?
The amount of money you need to retire is different for everyone. Your age, your retirement goals (like paying off your home, traveling, and legacy planning) are all important factors when you’re trying to decide how much you need to retire. If you’re in the pre-retirement stage and you want a general number to shoot for, 75-80% of your current annual income is a good rule of thumb.
But don’t worry—you don’t have to walk this road alone. Inviting a financial advisor to help you plan out your retirement and come up with a specific savings goal is key to your retirement success.
How Much Money Should I Be Saving Each Month?
Now that you know you should be trying to save about 75-80% of your annual income for retirement, you can break that down by month. Let’s use a simple retirement calculator and walk through this together.
Let’s say you’re 40 years old and you’re planning to retire at age 67. That means you have 27 years to maximize on your investment strategy. If you’re making about $100,000 annually, and investing 15% of each paycheck, you’ll be saving $625 per month. Using these numbers, in 27 years (with an average rate of return of 11%), you’ll have over 1.2 million dollars in retirement assets.
Remember, this is just a rough estimate. Retirement calculators are good tools to use to help you get a general idea of your savings goal, but nothing compares to working with a solid financial advisor to come up with a personalized retirement savings plan based on your goals, your age, and your current financial state.
What Impacts My Retirement?
You may think retirement planning is just about the amount of money you need to pay your bills, purchase groceries, and other day-to-day necessities. But having a solid financial foundation in retirement means that you’ve thought about your retirement budget, travel, leisure activities and hobbies, increased healthcare coverage, taxes, social security, estate planning, long-term care, and so much more.
You don’t want to go into this season of life without a solid financial plan. (They don’t call it your golden years for nothing!) If you’re ready to step into retirement planning, SageSpring Wealth Partners are here to help. Connect with an advisor today.
Your Ultimate Guide to Retirement
Looking for a quick guide to get you started? Download Your Ultimate Guide to Retirement. It will help you discover your next right steps on your planning journey.
The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of the author and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice.
