You Won't Believe How Many Americans Saved Nothing for Retirement Last Year

Though Social Security serves as an important income source for seniors, those benefits aren't designed to sustain retirees by themselves. Rather, you'll need independent savings to enjoy a decent standard of living when you're older and you no longer collect a paycheck from work. Ideally, your annual savings target should be 15% to 20% of your earnings so that if you bring home $60,000 a year in salary, you should be setting aside $9,000 to $12,000 in a 401(k) or IRA.

Of course, hitting that 15% to 20% target is a tall order for some -- especially lower earners who need almost every dollar they make to pay for essential expenses. Still, those who can't afford to part with a large chunk of their income should at least be making an effort to save something, even if it amounts to 2% or 3% of their earnings.

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Source Fool.com