Calculating how much you'll need when you retire

Geoff Williams
Updated

If you worry a lot about retirement, and if you'll have enough money to cover your cost of living in 2015 or 2036 or whenever you expect to be starting your golden years, have I got a web site for you.

Try an easy-to-use retirement calculator. It determines how much money you need to put away every year if you hope to retire at age 65 with 80% of your pre-retirement income.

  • You type in your current age.

  • Then in another box, you put in your current salary.

  • Finally, you plug in the numbers as to how much you've already saved.

  • Click "submit" and after several seconds of waiting, you have your numbers.

What's especially eye-opening is that the older you get, and the lower your savings, the more money you have to save. Sure, you're thinking: Duh. But I'm just saying that to actually have those specific numbers in front of you -- it's educational.

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