You're a facilities engineer and you want to retire comfortably. How much do you need to save?

The sooner you start planning for your retirement needs the better. It's easy to review how much you've saved. Expenses in retirement can be more difficult. Don't assume expenses will drop significantly when you retire. It's common for them to stay the same or even increase if you're traveling or doing other activities you've put off until retirement. Reviewing your cost of living is critical to understand what you'll need and determining if you have enough saved to cover those expenses over multiple decades.

It depends on your lifestyle. The best indicator is you will most likely maintain the same lifestyle in retirement years as you do in the working years. Have a diverse income strategy which includes personal savings, pension etc. Do not rely on government funding but regard it as a nice to have. With cost of inflation make sure your strategy accounts for 3-4% to cover and then 5% conservative average above. Total yield should be 8% minimum.

One thing I found helpful is when the company offers to match your contribution to your 401K...always max out what you can afford.

It's common for people to have old retirement accounts scattered across several financial institutions. As you get closer to retirement, you should consider consolidating these old accounts. It can mean rolling old 401ks into an IRA or into your current 401k if you're still working. The more you can simplify your financial situation, the easier it will be to start making a real retirement plan. Additionally, you'll want to understand your Social Security benefits and what timing makes the most sense. If you have a pension or other income sources, consider how those will compliment your other investments & retirement savings. Simplicity makes planning much easier and helps remove a lot of anxiety that comes with retirement planning.

When I was 10 years close to my goal of retiring, I went through all my random funds and combined them into one portfolio where I could keep track and know where my money actually is.

Nearly everyone will have an income gap when they retire. This can cause anxiety for many people, even those who have been good savers. It's important to understand both the amount of retirement income you may have - like Social Security - and when it will start. When you retire, your income goes away but your expenses don't. You need to understand how your retirement savings will fill the gap. Having a well thought out withdrawal strategy will help you understand how to manage the income gap, and it's important to understand the tax implications when pulling from different investment account types. The last thing you want is to kick off your retirement with a big, unintended tax bill.

There is no "right" number when it comes to retirement savings. What you need will mostly depend upon your standard of living. Your expenses will drive what you need to save. And having a realistic idea of your future costs is important. It can be hard to forecast living expenses but using your current expenses may be the best barometer. The earlier you begin saving the better. Taking advantage of 401ks through your employer are ideal. Additionally, you'll want to consider other investment account types like brokerage accounts and Roth IRAs. If you are able to save across several account types, it will provide more flexibility for retirement and helps to better manage your tax costs.

Retirement planning is not a "set-it-and-forget-it" exercise. Your circumstances and needs may change over time. The sooner you start planning for retirement the better. But you should expect things to change to some degree. Saving across different investment account types provide more flexibility for retirement. The closer you get to retiring, the more you'll want to review your plans. It's possible that you may need or want to retire earlier than planned. It's a good idea to "stress test" your plans to see how they hold up due to unforeseen changes. The future is unknown, so the better you can plan for contingencies, the more likely your plan will hold up over time.

I was able to retire a year ago. I was on a budget for the year to make sure I could stick with the plan. Then I went to see my financial planner and I was spot on.