How much is enough?
According to some financial planning experts, you will need to save enough [in your retirement account] so that your retirement income is in the range of 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income. You will need a higher percentage if you plan to improve your standard of living. If you have more expenses in retirement than before retirement, your retirement income may have to be more than your pre-retirement income.
My thoughts on your retirement account.
“There are two reasons it is important to have after-tax investments as part of your retirement plan. First, if you do such a great job saving that you can retire before age 59½, you need money you can access without a 10% early withdrawal penalty. Second, it’s nice to have some diversification of your tax bill in retirement so that every account withdrawal doesn’t get taxed at regular income tax rates,” says Kristi Sullivan,CFP®, Sullivan Financial Planning, LLC, Denver, Colo.
