A Little Goes A Long Way When It Comes To Retirement Savings

Coming up with enough money to retire comfortably seems like an insurmountable goal. The good news is you will likely have some money coming in from social security, and small amounts add up  - especially if you start saving as early as possible. Here’s how amounts ranging from $25 to $200 per month would add up for someone whose employer matches their contributions beginning at 30. We’ll assume a retirement age of 65 and 5 percent earned per year. You could very well earn 10 percent on average, but this is a conservative estimate.

You contribute $25 per month to your retirement fund.

Saving $25 dollars per month for 35 years adds up to a total of nearly $29,000. If your employer matched this amount, you’d have a total of over $56,000. If you did earn 10 percent on average on your money, you’d have a total of $92,000 without your company contributing an extra dime. With matching contributions, you’d accumulate nearly $190,000.

Note: Matching contributions simply means your employer is contributing the same amount to your retirement plan as you are. It can also mean, they’re contributing a percentage of income. In these calculations, we’re assuming a simple matching of matching the exact amount you contribute. In this case, you contribute $25 per month and your employer adds $25 per month. 

You contribute $50 per month towards your retirement fund.

Saving $50 per month for 35 years adds up to about $56,000. If your employer contributed an equal amount, you’d accumulate over $110,000. If you did earn 10 percent on average on your money, you could accumulate around $190,000 without an employer match. With an employer match, you’d accumulate about $380,000.

You contribute $100 per month towards your retirement fund.

Saving $100 per month for 35 years, adds up to over $110,000. If your employer matched your contribution, you could accumulate over $225,000. If you did earn 10 percent on average on your money, you could accumulate around $380,000 without an employer match. With an employer match, you’d accumulate around $750,000.

You contribute $200 per month towards your retirement fund.

Saving $100 per month for 35 years, adds up to over $225,000. If your employer matched your contribution, you could accumulate over $450,000. If you did earn 10 percent on average on your money, you could accumulate around $750,000 without an employer match. With an employer match, you’d accumulate over 1.5 million dollars.