What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

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LondonJimmy
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by LondonJimmy »

crowd79 wrote:For me, it is 30% at age 33. I guess I am quite aggressive....just wondered about others??

How are you saving it? Are you putting it all in an index? Or is it a separate pension?
Bill M
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by Bill M »

Maxing the 401k (the 415(c) limit), 403(b), two IRAs, and the NQ salary deferral offered by MegaCo. Totals ~70%. Kids being through college helps.
ot1138
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by ot1138 »

My target is 50% of gross pay but I'm not doing so hot this year due to a number of extraordinary expenses. I'm currently on track for 36%.

Edit: I'm maxing out my 401k, IRA, and HSA plans as well... trying to get some more room in my tax advantaged space.
Last edited by ot1138 on Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
rr2
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by rr2 »

Bill M wrote:Maxing the 401k (the 415(c) limit), 403(b), two IRAs, and the NQ salary deferral offered by MegaCo. Totals ~70%. Kids being through college helps.
Just curious, is this 70% of gross pay OR net pay?
Bill M
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by Bill M »

rr2 wrote:
Bill M wrote:Maxing the 401k (the 415(c) limit), 403(b), two IRAs, and the NQ salary deferral offered by MegaCo. Totals ~70%. Kids being through college helps.
Just curious, is this 70% of gross pay OR net pay?
Actually gross. I'm amazed too. The NQ deferral is non-taxable until paid out in 10 years, and doesn't even appear on 1040.
rr2
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by rr2 »

Bill M wrote:
rr2 wrote:
Bill M wrote:Maxing the 401k (the 415(c) limit), 403(b), two IRAs, and the NQ salary deferral offered by MegaCo. Totals ~70%. Kids being through college helps.
Just curious, is this 70% of gross pay OR net pay?
Actually gross. I'm amazed too. The NQ deferral is non-taxable until paid out in 10 years, and doesn't even appear on 1040.
Thanks. Can you explain how you arrive at the gross income? Do you add in the NQ deferrals?
enderland
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by enderland »

At age 24, I save 25% currently (including company match) to 401k and Roth IRA and roughly 20% for a house downpayment.
ot1138
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by ot1138 »

frugalhen wrote:What would interest me is how many people invest beyond all tax deferred options (401k/iras etc) as well as spouses if applicable.

We save about 30% but that includes a 401k and a simple Ira
I just looked over my Q1 statements and I'm running at 38% and 3/4 of that is outside of my tax-advantaged accounts. It looks like I'll be at 45% with company matching but it's the first year and I'm not precisely clear on how that works.
jd88
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by jd88 »

38% of Gross at 24 & I think I'm doing extremely well, but bogleheads always finds a way to give you doubt :x
rr2
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by rr2 »

jd88 wrote:38% of Gross at 24 & I think I'm doing extremely well, but bogleheads always finds a way to give you doubt :x
This is fantastic. At your age all I was saving was about 10% in an emergency fund. It took us to the mid 40s before we exceeded about 40% saved.
Bill M
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by Bill M »

rr2 wrote:
Bill M wrote:
rr2 wrote:
Bill M wrote:Maxing the 401k (the 415(c) limit), 403(b), two IRAs, and the NQ salary deferral offered by MegaCo. Totals ~70%. Kids being through college helps.
Just curious, is this 70% of gross pay OR net pay?
Actually gross. I'm amazed too. The NQ deferral is non-taxable until paid out in 10 years, and doesn't even appear on 1040.
Thanks. Can you explain how you arrive at the gross income? Do you add in the NQ deferrals?
Yes, I add in the NQ deferrals in calculating gross income. I have to make an election each year for the deferral, and select the percentage (up to 55%), so it has always seemed reasonable to figure it as part of our savings strategy. Its only recently that I've been able to use the full 55%.
Kriegsspiel
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by Kriegsspiel »

I'm at 75% consistently. I'm 26.
rr2
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by rr2 »

Kriegsspiel wrote:I'm at 75% consistently. I'm 26.
What % of your income goes to taxes such as federal, state, FICA?
Ella
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by Ella »

In 2012 I saved 29% of my gross income (which I define as wages + annual mandatory after-tax contribution to a cash-balance "pension" + the prior year tax refund).

My savings rate declined with lifestyle creep the past few years, but I have refocused and my goal is to save 50% of gross in 2013.

Some details prevous posters have asked about:
1) About 46% of my saving was in taxable accounts; the remainder was in IRAs/employer plans.
2) I don't count savings for periodic expenses, since that money will get spent within 1 year or so; I only count savings that are meant to be held until I am retired.
3) I don't count employer matches; what I am concerned about is how much of my own money I keep.

I am really glad to be refocusing on saving. Frugality is a muscle; the more I develop it, the easier and more enjoyable it gets to keep doing it.

Ella
baBogle
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by baBogle »

Saved around 65% Net, 43% Gross last year. No company match on retirement benefits and vast majority of savings last year is in taxable accounts.

27, no kids, no wife. I am frugal on the big ticket things - lease a cheap apartment with a roommate, but the opposite for everything else. I don't budget for food, entertainment, shopping or travel and just try not to be too outlandish with everything. I'm also planning to do a gap year in the next 2-4 years and not extremely confident that my income will be this high after I return. A significant portion of my income is tied to company stock, so my take home (and savings rate) can fluctuate quite a bit each quarter.
Dopey
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by Dopey »

Retirement specific accounts: 25%
HSA: 5.5%
Emergency Fund: 4.5%

I'm 26. I put 2% of my 3% raise into my 401k this year. I'd like to continue doing that until that thing is finally maxed.
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crowd79
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by crowd79 »

Just got my 3% work match for 2012 at the end of March 2013. I suppose if I include that, which some people on here seem to do, then I'm saving 33% of my income (30% my own + 3% work match).
Kriegsspiel
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by Kriegsspiel »

rr2 wrote:
Kriegsspiel wrote:I'm at 75% consistently. I'm 26.
What % of your income goes to taxes such as federal, state, FICA?
18% (no state income tax).

EDIT:

I guess that doesn't really make sense does it? I think I was eliminating the taxes from my calculation. My non-tax cost of living is about 22.7% of my gross pay. Taxes were 18%. So I guess a more accurate savings % would be 59.3%.
rr2
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by rr2 »

Kriegsspiel wrote:
rr2 wrote:
Kriegsspiel wrote:I'm at 75% consistently. I'm 26.
What % of your income goes to taxes such as federal, state, FICA?
18% (no state income tax).

EDIT:

I guess that doesn't really make sense does it? I think I was eliminating the taxes from my calculation. My non-tax cost of living is about 22.7% of my gross pay. Taxes were 18%. So I guess a more accurate savings % would be 59.3%.
Thanks. This is very good for your age. By living simply, you can accumulate a decent amount of money. However, you are young, so do spend on acquiring some experiences that you may not be able to do as you get older.
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mickeyd
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by mickeyd »

Back when I was saving for the future (retirement, kids college, new house) we just saved as much as we could afford. We never had a feeling that we were short changing today to save for tomorrow. We never had a shortfall because we never had a numerical goal.

Looking back on the results of that vague plan, it did not seem difficult at all. Today with house paid off, kids out of school and in healthy careers, DW and I sitting comfortably at home with various income streams and a nice Vanguard stash it looks like my plan worked as well as could be expected.
Part-Owner of Texas | | “The CMH-the Cost Matters Hypothesis -is all that is needed to explain why indexing must and will work… Yes, it is that simple.” John C. Bogle
Kriegsspiel
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by Kriegsspiel »

rr2 wrote: Thanks. This is very good for your age. By living simply, you can accumulate a decent amount of money. However, you are young, so do spend on acquiring some experiences that you may not be able to do as you get older.
That's true. I have had a pretty full life so far. I'll probably be able to retire, at least for a while, when I'm 30, which will free up my time to do a lot of cool things. Right now I'm taking a tactical pause from travelling around, and I'm doing a lot of reading and self-educating about some stuff I find interesting.
givewell
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by givewell »

Saving about 22% of Gross but -
1. I am already 71 and have already won the game, and then some.
2. Hope NOT to retire until well into my 80s. What would I DO? Already have so very much leisure time.
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jwillis77373
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by jwillis77373 »

28 % on average, except when I'm between jobs obviously

I use to save closer to 40 % but those were my younger years and work came a lot faster with less time to spend, ironically it seems the older you get the more time you spend trying to fix things that should probably be let go or turned over. The "spend a dollar" to fix something "worth a penny" because its sentimental thing. I'll bet its why people get more emotional with age and more attached to things than people in some cases.
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ray.james
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by ray.james »

30% at 27. Investments are set . Time to attack my discretionary spending
When in doubt, http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=79939
letsgobobby
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by letsgobobby »

bump due to recent similar post
investingdad
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by investingdad »

I should have spent some time searching before I started my new thread.

Over the last seven years, we've averaged 28% of our gross compensation. We're turning 40 this year and we have two little kids. Prior to kids, it was closer to 33% of our gross.

None of the company match dollars we get are included in that figure.
andyh182
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by andyh182 »

Approximately 35%. Age 29. Had 2 years of unemployment so I am trying to "catch-up"
Murdoch
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by Murdoch »

Somewhere between 55% to 60% gross income. Age 28.
No major expenses, cheap hobbies, still cut my own hair.
Like others have said, making hay while the sun shines.
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Rob54keep
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Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

Post by Rob54keep »

It looks like 33% without company match and about 45% with their help. However we are empty nesters now and only a few years away from no full-time corporate job. During my earlier years I would this was more in the 20-25% range.
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