Saving for retirement can be a challenging task. The starting point for any retirement planning is an understanding of what your retirement needs will be. Once you've done that, you'll have a target to aim at and be able to put together a savings plan that will get you there. Defining your retirement need requires that you have a retirement age in mind and a basic understanding of what your spending needs will be during your retirement years. A simple approach for defining your retirement needs is based on using a percentage of your current income, adjusted for inflation between now and when you retire. You might also want to consider how your salary will change based on merit or cost of living increases. Your retirement savings plan will follow; driven largely by what you've saved to date and what you can save going forward each month. Don't forget to factor in any pensions or social security payments that you'll be entitled to receive during retirement.

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