Page 28 - BusinessWest March 17, 2025

Planning for the Future
Take These Essential Steps to Secure Your Retirement
BY ANDREW R. BEAUDRY, CFP AND RYAN T. CUMMINGS, CFP
Is your retirement savings on track?
If you’re like most people, you may feel it’s not. In fact, concerns about
running out of money in retirement
are very common.
Many people today believe they’ll need
at least $1.5 million saved to retire com- fortably. But is that number right for you? The real ‘magic number’ varies widely depending on your current savings, future goals, and lifestyle plans.
bilities and maximize retirement contribu- tions to reach about six times your salary by age 50.
Age 60 = eight times your salary. As you approach retirement, think about how and when you might transition to retire- ment and whether a part-time role could be part of your plan, while aiming to have at least eight times your salary saved by age 60.
Age 67 (average retirement age) = 10 times your salary. If you plan to retire around age 67, which is the full retirement age for Social Security
Keep in mind that these recommendations provide broad esti- mates for guidance and tracking progress. As you gain experience
“Are you dreaming of frequent travel, a quiet life filled with hobbies,
A clearer picture of retirement readiness
starts with understanding some general rules of thumb, strategies for calculating your personal magic number, and practical tips to help build a reliable nest egg for your future.
Five Retirement-savings Milestones
Setting retirement-savings milestones can help you determine
benefits, aim for about 10 times your annual salary. For instance, a salary of $100,000 would suggest a target of $1 million by retirement.
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what to save monthly and annually to stay on track. While these tar- gets may vary, here are some helpful benchmarks to consider.
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Age 30 = your salary. By age 30, aim to save at least one year’s
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worth of your salary for retirement. Hitting this goal allows you to start benefiting from the power of compound growth.
Age 40 = three times your salary. Though expenses may grow as families do, keeping pace with retirement-savings goals may mean saving at least three times your salary by roughly age 40.
Age 50 = six times your salary. As you get closer to retiring, look at ways to pay down debt to enter retirement with minimal lia-
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Five Factors That Impact Savings Goals
While general savings milestones provide helpful guidelines, personal factors can greatly influence your actual retirement needs. Here are five key considerations to help you define your unique retirement target:
When do you want to retire? What age do you envision for
ANDREW BEAUDRY
RYAN CUMMINGS
or something
in between?
The more you
can clarify your lifestyle goals,
the better you’ll understand the financial resources you’ll need to enjoy your future comfortably.”
RS 40
and your salary grows, th
ones may shift as your income
ese
m
n
d
il
e
changes. These benchmarks may not fit everyone’s personal retire-
m
ent
plans and should be adapted to individual goals.
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