How Much Should You Save For Retirement

In a perfect world, 你会从你的第一份薪水开始为退休储蓄，直到大约40年后你离开工作的那一天. But not everyone works consistently.  And, unfortunately, not everyone is able to save consistently. 有时，失业和意想不到的疾病会让我们偏离目标. 好消息是，开始或建立你的退休储蓄永远不会太晚.

If you’re in your 20s, 30s, or 40s (or even 50s) and haven’t started saving for your retirement, now is the time. 你越早开始存钱，你的钱就会越大.

So, exactly how much should you be saving for retirement?

Like so many things, it really depends. 一个好的经验法则是把收入的15%存起来——如果可以的话存20%——其中包括雇主提供的任何相应的退休基金. 还有一系列旨在帮助人们判断自己是否步入退休轨道的基准.  Fidelity Investments, for example, recommends that by age 30, you should have 1x your income socked away for retirement. By 40, 3x. By 50, 6x. By 60, 8x. And by retirement 10x. 这样做，在30年的时间里，你通常可以替代退休前收入的80%. Of course, not everyone will hit those marks on schedule — or ever.  

The EBRI Retirement Security Projection Model 显示35到64岁的人群中有40%的人面临着没有足够的钱来支付退休费用的风险.  Similarly, the National Retirement Risk Index, 波士顿学院退休研究中心(Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)的一份报告显示，50%的人口在退休后将没有足够的钱维持目前的生活方式. And yet, “retirement can be a lot cheaper than your working regular life,” says Annamaria Lusardi, 乔治华盛顿大学商学院经济学和会计学教授. “You may no longer have to provide for your children, 如果你们两个都不工作，你可能不再需要两辆车了，你甚至可以通过搬到一个小一点的房子来降低成本.” 

The point? One size does not fit all. 这里有一些指导方针，可以帮助你判断自己是否存够了钱. 
Remember, It’s Your Retirement

What do you want your retirement to look like? 如果你还没有和你的配偶或伴侣(如果你有的话)问过这个问题，那么是时候了. Only once you envision it can you begin to price it out. 因为那时你会回答一些问题，比如你将住在哪里(住在你的大房子里还是住在一个小房子里，这样你就可以把以前的房屋净值存起来), whether you’ll work (as many retirees do), if you’ll move (and lower your taxes as a result).

The question of when you’ll retire is similarly important. The longer you continue to work, 你的退休储蓄增长的时间越长，你依靠这些储蓄来维持你的生活方式的时间就越少. Once you’ve got the answer to these questions, 坐下来，拿起笔和纸(如果你愿意，也可以用电子表格)，开始计算你生活所需的钱. If you’re struggling, a sit-down with a financial advisor can help.
Focus On Income Replacement

一旦你有了数字的概念，你就可以开始研究如何达到目标. Start with Social Security. How much of your estimated monthly expenses will that cover? (如果你不知道你期望从社会保障中得到多少，你可以得到你的估计 ssa.gov.) Many people start taking their benefits at age 62, but waiting means more money every month; for every year you delay taking benefits from 62 until 70 you’ll receive an increase of about 8%. That’s a huge help. 从你估计的每月所需生活费中减去这笔钱. Then consider whether you’ll be receiving any pension income.

Although most people in the U.S. no longer have pensions, many military families and teachers do. 如果你有养老金，从你每月的需求中减去你的养老金收入. 剩下的就是你想用退休储蓄支付的金额. “Based on the 4% safe withdrawal rule, a million dollar portfolio creates $40,000 of annual income,” says David Littell, 美国新沙巴体育网服务学院退休收入教授. You may need more. But you may also need less.
Savings Calculators

There are dozens of tools and guides 帮你弄清楚你是否有足够的钱来支付基本生活费用. One free (and excellent) online retirement planning tool is the AARP retirement calculator. 它会带你一步一步地完成一份调查问卷，说明社会保障和其他潜在的收入来源(如出售房地产和继承遗产的收益).

用它来获得一段时间内你收入来源的详细图表，并找出潜在的差距. 这个计算器可以让你做出各种调整，看看你如何能帮助提高你不比你的钱活得久的几率.

If DIY planning makes you nervous, 聘请一位付费的注册理财规划师(CFP)来帮助你制定定制的路线图并实施合适的策略，可能是值得的. (Here are five questions to ask any financial planner before you hire them.)
Make Your Money Work For You

Finally, as you mull over these questions of how much you’ll need in retirement, you also want to be sure your assets are working to get you there. 换句话说，他们的投资方式与你的风险承受能力和时间范围一致. 你的投资组合应该多样化，由股票和债券组合而成. 具体多少取决于你离退休还有多久，以及你能承受多大的风险. If you have many years to go, you can take more risk, 这意味着你的投资组合中股票和其他高增长资产类别的比重可能更大. (目标日期退休基金是一种一次性的解决方案，可以帮助控制你的投资组合.)

But you should also consider getting some help. 理财规划师可以帮助你为你的未来绘制路线图，将你的短期和长期目标考虑在内. They can also help you keep emotions in check when the markets tank, 当你需要改变你的财务状况以跟上你不断变化的生活时，让你回到正轨.