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I don't see how it's possible to answer the OP's question because there really are way too many variables. Certainly if a 35-year old has saved nothing for retirement yet, that is a bad situation to be in and serious catch up efforts are in order.
In most professions it should be a reasonable expectation, although never a certainly, to be able to continue working until at least age 60, so the 35-year-old still has 25 years to prepare financially for retirement, and probably more.
the growth and savings rate will be different for everyone here. the only number that counts is the number you have when you go to meet an intended goal for that money.
our savings did not kick into high gear until after the kids were out of school since they were in private school since kindergarden.
while there are sooooo many old wives tale formulas out there the growth and time frame is going to depend on so many things.
kids? house being payed for? school loans? etc etc. it took me 50 years to hit 1 million but only 11 years to triple it.
the amount we can commit will vary at different times of our lives and i think anyone who tries to compare to others is waisting there time. the timetable of life has each of us having different cash flow at different times of our lives based on our own unique situations.
You should start saving in your 20s. I started with small saving in my early 30s, but didn't get serious about saving till age 40, which is pretty late and tough to do. It depends on how much you earn. If you can live on 25% of your gross income, then you can save a lot by 'paying yourself first', saving that amount and living on the rest. The key is to choose a career that pays enough. Otherwise, there's just not enough money left to live on after you pay yourself. Or, you can't pay yourself enough and save enough. The book 'The Millionaire Next Door' uses a simple family income formula. Take the gross family income, multiply by your age and divide by 10. The is the average amount you should have saved. Take that number, half that amount is probably too low, double the average amount, and that number is probably more than you need.
Pensions are important too, as long as you can have confidence that the pension fund will be solvent in the long run. If the pensions produce $50k per year, that's equivalent to having $1M saved with the 5% rule, except you don't have access to the effective principle. You need to save beyond that too. Some people use the 8 to 9 times your annual gross income, some people use as high as 20 times you annual gross income.
It helps if you can live on a fraction of your income. For example, if your family income is $200K gross, you pay income tax, then live off $50K and save the rest. If your family retirement income is $100K, then that may be enough to cover for long term inflation.
This example situation may seem out of reach for most people. That is why it is critical to work hard at educating yourself and pursue a career that will pay you enough money to make the numbers work out. Most occupations won't allow you to earn enough to retire comfortably. Its best if you can make those life choices earlier, because its a lot harder to do when you are 40, which I did.
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