There are a lot of things to worry about in this world… terrorism, the economy, disease. But of the things we in middle age worry about the most, high on the list is retirement. It’s frankly scary to think about a time in the future when we’re gonna have to live without a regular job and a regular paycheck.

How do we prepare? How much do we need? What fraction of what we’re living on when we’re 50 or 55 do we need to live on when we’re 65 or 75? And how do we get that sum saved? Perhaps most vital of all, how do we invest so we will not run out of money before we die? After all, few things are more frightening than the prospect of poverty when we’re old.

Well, let’s start with the facts. For most of us our retirement is gonna depend on our own efforts. Unless we’re part of the roughly 20% who have a meaningful pension that is sturdy and dependable. We’re going to have to make our own plans to generate income and stability and security after we retire. Social Security will probably still be working for a long time to come. But it provides only about 30% of what the ordinary family will need to retire on.