Whatever you do, don't put off planning. Your retirement is too important. One guideline to consider when thinking about your retirement is that you'll need at least 15 years to amass a nest egg that will provide you with enough income to last at least 40 years in retirement. That may be true. But unless it is unusually generous, however, your pension alone, supplemented only by what may be available through Social Security, probably won't be enough to give you the lifestyle you need and deserve at retirement.
Most pension plans offer a fixed income equal to a percentage of salary.
At an inflation rate of 3 percent per year, in just 15 years the value of your pension plan will decrease by almost 40 percent. You begin retirement with an income shortfall which worsens as inflation steadily erodes the purchasing power of your income, as shown below. If you want to ensure an adequate income in retirement, there is no question that you will have to provide asignificant portion of the money. The younger you are, the more you will need to accumulate for retirement as the cost of living continues to rise. If you are already in mid-career, there is no time to wait.