How Much Income Do I Really Need in Retirement?

The last few years I have been exploring many aspects of investing. One area that has intrigued me is how to determine the amount of income you will need in retirement. Financial planners use a rule-of-thumb that suggests you will need 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income. In this story, I examine this rule-of-thumb and apply it to four fictitious families. Hopefully the results of my analysis will help people better understand the pros and cons of using the 80% rule-of-thumb. This story should also help people better estimate their retirement income needs.