5 Milestones You Should Hit on the Road to Retirement
Whether you're aiming to retire in the not-so-distant future, or in a number of years, the more you plan for it, the more you're apt to enjoy it. Here are a few important milestones you should aim to hit in the course of your planning.
Because Social Security will only replace a portion of your pre-retirement income, you'll need a solid nest egg to ensure that you're able to keep up with your expenses once your paycheck goes away. And while there are different guidelines out there regarding how much to save, one good rule of thumb is to sock away the equivalent of 10 times your ending salary. This means that if you're in your mid-60s earning $100,000 a year, you should aim for $1 million in your IRA or 401(k).
If you're nowhere close, aim to ramp up in the coming years, or consider putting in a few extra years in the workforce. Setting aside $1,000 a month in a retirement plan for three more years will give an additional $36,000 for your golden years, and that doesn't even account for growth on your investments.
Source Fool.com