Crunching the Numbers: How Much Do You Need to Retire?

Jeffrey Jacobi, a Katy, Texas, air conditioning contractor, plans to retire soon. Or he did. He’s not so sure now, given the current economic crisis. The 66-year-old has been steadily socking away enough savings to let him and his wife enjoy the equivalent of 100 percent of their salary over three decades of retirement. But even so, he wonders, will it be adequate? “Until now, I was feeling pretty confident that I had done a good job preparing for our retirement, but now I’m worried that it’s not going to be enough,” he said. “Our retirement portfolio is down nearly 30 percent in the last month. With the Wall Street bailout, everything is so uncertain. And now they’re talking about a recession that could last anywhere from three to eight years.” … Back to Article