How much money should a person have saved for retirement?

How much do you think it would take if you retired at age 65? I'm 26 years old and I know I'm going to have to figure in inflation. I was just wondering. This could include 401ks, IRAs, Stocks, etc...

Public Comments

1. You should talk to a reputable financial planner, who can individualize a plan for you. There are a lot of factors that go into how much one would need like their current lifestyle, where they want to live, travel etc. There is no magic number.
2. Well it all depends. How confortably do you want to retire? Perhaps you have simple needs and do not need that much. Where do you plan to retire? Standard of living and all plays a part. Check out major Banking websites. Several have retirement calculators. =) Cool eh? =)
3. One thing that you should is remember not to put all your money into one thing. Diversify. I mean have a 401k, maybe 1 or 2 IRA's and some stocks. When it comes to 401k put in about 5% and see if your company matches at all cuz that really helps. When it comes to IRA's try Roth's because they tend to do very well. Good companies are Fidelty, Legg Mason, and TRowe Price. When it comes to Stocks you want to have your money spread out. Try a little in technology, some in banks, some into entertainment, and etc. when it comes to this try a website called sharebuilders.com. Be sure to keep track and watch the high and low's. But overall you want to have around 30-40% of amount that you have made in your life while working for a secure retirement. Good Luck.
4. There is no magic number. You have to consider a lot of lifestyle factors. Many people choose a number based on their current standard of living, but in our discussions, my husband and I have agreed that we will downsize our home. That significantly changes the amount we need. Here are some of the questions we ask ourselves during planning sessions: What kind of house(s)/property do you want to have? Do we want a vacation home in addition to a primary home? Where in the country to you want to live? Do you want to travel during your retirement years? In addition to your life savings, what other sources of income will you have (pension, property rental, etc.)? You are at an advantage starting your retirement savings in your 20s. Put away as much as you comfortably can and you will glad you did.
5. I believe you need to look at a clear retirement calculator that can help you understand how deposits, ROI, and inflation will affect your future spending power. There is a free 40-year investment calculator (MS Excel) at the URL below. Download it and play with the numbers. You can put in your age, current investment level, ROI, continued deposits, and adjust the inflation rate to get the best possible future estimate on spending power. At 26, you have time on your side. The sooner you begin investing, the greater effect of compounding in the last years before your retirement. Be blessed,
6. right now i guess at least 10k in savings would be okay
7. You need well over $1 million for a comfortable retirement. At your age, depending on income, you should have $5000-$10000 in IRAs/401k/etc. Just the fact that you are concerned about the issue puts you ahead of many of your peers.