LIFESTYLE

How much retirement savings do you really need?

Deidre Wengen
Retirement nest egg

With the recession and a staggering number of people out of work, saving for retirement can seem like a daunting task.

But putting away money for your golden years is essential to leading a happy and fulfilling life as you age.

So, how much do you really need to save?

Well, this article from NPR breaks down some of the facts and figures, so that people have a better plan and idea of how much they need to put aside.

One of the major points to keep in mind when planning for retirement is the fact that people are living longer. This increases the potential costs for long-term care or private care later in life, which could drastically increase the amount of money needed.

Dallas Salisbury, president of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, explains that people need to save much more than what was previously suggested. In the past, individuals were told they would likely be able to get by if they saved 5 or 10 times their annual salary.

However, Salisbury recommends that you actually need 33 times what you expect to spend in your first year of retirement. Even considering what you'll get from Social Security, that final number is a frightening figure.

The best advice is to save approximately 15 percent of your income every year from the time you start working. The later you start saving, the more income you need to save.

For more information on the reality of saving for retirement, visit NPR.com for the full article.

Even though times are tough, the sooner you start planning for your retirement, the better off you'll be later in life.