Why a Comfortable Retirement Takes Planning Today, every American has plenty of reasons to plan for a comfortable retirement.
Retirement can be costly.
Most people will require approximately 70-80 percent of their current annual income to maintain their standard of living in retirement. 1 Many retirement plans provide substantially less than that amount and, with the exception of defined benefit plans, offer no guarantees of lifetime payment to plan participants. Social Security benefits won't be enough to secure a comfortable retirement. Social Security typically only provides a fraction of the amount that you will need during your golden years. Beginning in 2008, the first of the 77 million baby boomers will become eligible to receive benefits.