Financial Resources

Financial experts indicate you need to replace 70 to 85 percent of your working income in retirement. Some say these estimates are too high and were developed by the financial services industry to promote sales of their mutual funds. Personally, I believe it boils down to your individual needs. Read on for tips and advice on replacing your income in retirement.

The 70 to 85 percent rule is based on the assumption your expenses (minus work expenses and savings) will remain in effect during retirement. The remaining expenses would include mortgage payments, car payments, and maybe even supporting children who might still be at home. However, if none of these apply then certainly you can get by on a lot less than what the standard dictates. This essentially means that you should make adjustments now to enter into retirement debt free.

In order to do this, you need to utilize mortgage and loan calculators to determine how much extra you need to pay each month to reach your goal. Once you've figured out your debt free payment plan and have put it into effect, you're next step is to determine how much you'll need to save for retirement.

Assuming you have a 401K plan through your employer, the plan manager should have online resources such as retirement calculators to assist you in planning for your future. If not, there's a link below which will allow you to help plan for different retirement scenarios. There are many other resources you can use to help in determining what you'll need to live comfortably in retirement.

The bottom line is if it's just you and your spouse or even if you happen to be alone, and your house and car(s) are paid for then your expenses will drop dramatically. Of course, this would be the ideal scenario and especially for those who haven't prepared themselves for retirement as they should have. So don't waste another moment....start planning for your future today.