How much should you really be saving for retirement?

Retirement should be the time in your life where you’re able to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour throughout your working life. However, simply paying into your savings or a pension for when you retire might not allow you to do this if you’re not putting enough away. But what does “enough” look like? Here are a few questions to consider to help you get started.

How old are you? – Clearly the earlier you start saving for your retirement, the more time you have to put money away. Conversely, the longer you leave it to start paying into your pension or savings, the more time – and money – you’ll need to make up. A good way to ensure your contributions are adequate for your needs later in life is to take the age you start paying into your pension, then divide it by two. This is the percentage of your pre-tax salary you need to put away every year until you retire. The earlier you start paying in, the lower the percentage; delaying will just mean you need to pay in more later on.

How much is matched by your employer? – Contribution matching by employers can really help build up your nest egg, so it’s worth keeping up to date not only with how much your employer is currently matching but also how this figure will increase if you up your contributions. That said, it’s a good idea not to rely too much on contribution matching, focusing instead on reaching your savings goals on your own.

What are my saving habits like? – Being honest about how good you are at saving will help you capitalise on your positive habits and combat those which might thwart your attempts to build up your pension. Make sure saving is the first thing you do: rather than putting away whatever you have left at the end of the month, make sure your savings leave your account as soon as you get paid. If you receive a pay increase, make sure you take the opportunity to bump up your contributions so that the extra money doesn’t all go towards the here and now. Most importantly, don’t give up. Even if you start saving below the rate you should be putting money away, this is better than not saving at all, and helps to make saving a habit for when you’re in a position to increase your contributions later.