How Much Income Will I Need in Retirement?
You'll see confident-sounding rules like "you need 70-80% of your income." Treat those skeptically — the honest answer depends entirely on your own numbers, not a generic formula.
💬 GLP Retirement MinuteA generic rule can't know whether your mortgage will be paid off, how many dependents you'll still be supporting, or what your healthcare situation looks like. Two educators retiring the same year with the same salary can have completely different real needs.
What Actually Changes — In Both Directions
Often Goes Down
- You're no longer setting aside part of your paycheck for retirement savings
- Commuting and work-related costs disappear
- A mortgage may already be paid off by retirement age
- Payroll taxes on wages no longer apply
Often Goes Up
- Healthcare costs, especially before Medicare eligibility at 65
- Travel and leisure spending, simply because there's more time available for it
- Home maintenance, if you take on projects you didn't have time for while working
Rather than applying a percentage, estimate your real expected expenses category by category, then compare that number to your projected pension (see the Pension Calculator) plus Social Security. Whatever's left is your real, personal gap — not an assumed one.
"How much will I need" is really "what will I actually spend" in disguise — and that's a question about your own life, not a number any generic formula can answer accurately on your behalf.