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No One Cares More About Your Retirement Than YOU Do | Our Finance

This is a guest post from Robert Brokamp of The Motley Fool. Robert is a Certified Financial Planner and the advisor for The Motley Fool’s Rule Your Retirement service. He contributes one new article to Get Rich Slowly every two weeks. In recognition of National Save for Retirement Week, let’s take a gander at some numbers: The average Social Security retirement benefit is $1,159 a month, or... moreThis is a guest post from Robert Brokamp of The Motley Fool. Robert is a Certified Financial Planner and the advisor for The Motley Fool’s Rule Your Retirement service. He contributes one new article to Get Rich Slowly every two weeks. In recognition of National Save for Retirement Week, let’s take a gander at some numbers: The average Social Security retirement benefit is $1,159 a month, or $13,908 a year. According to the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI), approximately a third of the 60-and-over crowd receives a monthly check from a defined-benefit plan, also known as a traditional pension. The average annual benefit is about $18,000. Put those together, and you come to two conclusions: If you aren’t covered by a traditional pension and choose not to save for retirement, you’re left with just Social Security and an annual retirement income that is not far from the poverty line ($10,830 for a single American in 2009). Not fun. If you’re [...] view page