How much money should you have when you retire? And what age do people normally retire?

I am 25 now and my 401k will be around $85,000.00 if I retired at the age of 60. I have no idea if this is a good amount of money to retire on or if its not enough! I have a few other investments besides this. My 401k is specifically for retirement. Am I on the right track or am I falling short?

Way short. That amount will last you a couple of years or five? Or you could live like a pauper on $8,500/yr (10% of $85,00 if you can find 10%).

According to the Bloomberg.com calculator, if you currently have $85,000 and put in $5,000/yr for 40 yrs, you would have about $800,000 at age 65, calculated at 6% compounded interest. Sounds like a lot, but for 20 more years, it's not; still only a comfortable $40,000 per year. Those retirement homes are $2,000 - $5,000 per month.

It depends on you lifestyle and obligations, etc.

http://www.stock-article.com/

If you have a 401k, you are definetely on the right track! Just keep it up and stash away as much money as you can.
It depends how much you are gonna need to retire. If you retire at 60, estimate you might spend around 35 years in retirement. In general, people need around 75% of their current annual income when they retire. So multiply your annual salary by 0.75 and by 35 years - that is how much you will need to retire in comfort. Keep in mind inflation and return on your investments. Good luck!

It does depend on your lifestyle and what you plan to spend your money on. Will your home/auto/finances be paid for? Or will you still be making payments? take that into consideration. Also, the fact that in the future, prices will more than likely rise and the value of the dollar may not be exactly what it is today.

I would invest into a Whole life policy or an IRA and just keep dumping as much money as you can into it each year. don't even pay attention to the market...just keep putting money in it. The market is going to fluxuate regarless. Ask an agent. They'll help.

$85,000.00 sounds very low. It does not compute out. If you work for the next 35 years and make full contributions I would think your number should be much higher. $85K in 35 years won't buy you much retirement comfort. Are you calculating the earnings or just your anticipated contributions?

How much are you putting in each year? What is it invested in?

$85,000 is NOT a reasonable amount to have earned if you are only 25 years old now.

Go to a Financial Planner and have them work with you on making a viable plan for your retirement. You will want to include long-term care insurance and quite a few other things I am not mentioning here.

Good for you for thinking ahead like this. Too many people put it off until there is very little time left. At your age, you will not be able to expect Social Security benefits until after 75 years old.

Good luck to you. My husband are currently making these decisions now ourselves, and we both wish we had been able to start thinking about it earlier.

But it is never too late (well, almost) or too early to start planning. But planning earlier is the much better choice.

A consultant speaking on CNBC suggests that you have at least $200,000 for medical expenses alone ($400,000 per couple).

After that just consider your food, mortgage/rent, vacation, and other miscellaneous expenses.

Take inflation into account when you do your calculations. Expect 3%-5% inflation per year.

My best advice is that if your employer matches your 401(k) contributions put in as much money as you can. They are giving you free money after all.

This website can give you a rough estimate of how much you need to retire. I suspect you will need to invest a lot more.

25 and have that amount you must be doing well in stock
Well people retire around 64-65. So they can get on medicade. But you can retire at your 20 year mark and start another career. Or you can stay till you meet where
age plus yeras of service = 65.
Or when every after 65 you can retire its up to you and your life style.
The longer you work the more money you get

I assume 401k is pension? In 35 years $85k will probably be the equivalent of $10,000 today but it's very hard to predict.

For your top-up investments - in the UK the rule of thumb is 100,000 for every 3,000 of annual income required.

This allows for income + some capital appreciation so you can keep up with the cost of living, otherwise you income will be eroded. Hopefully you will live a long time after 60 - at least 40 years - so you need plenty of money to enjoy yourself.

You are very wise to act now - I'm 42 and have probably missed the boat! I'll be lucky to retire at 60.

"Live Long and Prosper"

you need at lest 500.000 per couple, retire is around 65.

Seek the advice of a Financial Planner. I agree with a few of the people here in that your calculations don't sound right. Be skeptical of quick answers to your question. There is no easy answer to this. The same people who say you need to have $X at retirement without knowing much of anything about you and your circumstances are the same ones who tell you how much life insurance to buy simply by multiplying your salary by an arbitrary number. AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE!

If you don't smoke and if you are healthy you have a life expectancy of 85 years.

Not considering inflation (Which you must carefully consider when you are planning for your retirement)

Not considering advances in technology or medicine (which you must carefully consider when you are planning for your retirement)

You will have to survive with $3,400 per year.