When can I retire?

As you're deciding when to retire, you'll need to think about how much money you're likely to spend each year.

Financial planners often tell people to plan to spend 75%–85% of their current income once they retire. It's an estimate based on the fact that, once you retire, you should be spending less on:

• Payroll taxes.
• Debt, assuming you paid much of it off before retiring.
• Retirement savings.
• Everyday expenses like gas and clothes for work.

However, this "rule" doesn't work for everyone. Don't forget to consider any additional expenses you might be expecting, like:

• Expensive travel or other lifestyle purchases (for example, a boat or second home).
• Higher-than-average health care expenses.
• College tuition or other gifts to family members.

If you foresee any of these expenses in your future, you might need to increase your target to 100% or more of your current income.

Social Security (and potentially a pension) will give you some income, but the rest will need to come from your savings.