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the three great misconceptions about retirement saving part one one, by Darrow Kirkpatrick of can

I retire yet.com. Retirement planning can be hard. Annuities, estates, health care, retirement calculators,

safe withdrawal rates, social security, taxes. There are many pieces to a successful retirement plan. But almost all of these topics

boil down and feed into the one question that outranks all others. How much money do I need to retire?

I've been a serious student of the retirement equation and retirement lifestyles for more than 10 years now.

There's a lot to be said on these topics,

witness more than 200 articles on this blog, and thousands more spread across the internet.

I'm also a fan of simplicity, but beware oversimplifying the retirement analysis. When it comes to the question

of how much, it's tempting to fall back on easy answers or expert opinions. But a realistic

retirement plan updated as you go will be much more useful as you navigate the retirement years. When it comes to retirement

savings, there are three misconceptions that outrank all others. Avoid these mistakes in thinking

if you want to maximize your freedom, comfort, and peace of mind in retirement. Misconception number one. You don't need to save because the government

will take care of you. Most of you listening to this now don't make this mistake, but you aren't the

average worker. For whatever reason, many Americans simply don't think much about retirement. To be fair, some are too busy making

ends meet day to day. Some perhaps are intimidated by the numbers and the financial complexity,

and some are lulled into a belief that government in the form of social security will take care of

them. But that confidence is unfounded. According to the 2017 report by the

trustees for Social Security, the main Social Security trust fund is projected to pay full benefits

only until 2035, 18 years from now. Without legislative action, the fund will incur a huge shortfall,

able to pay only about 75% of benefits going forward. That news is bad enough, but consider that

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