10% of you pay should be put away from now on...amx (americal financial) offers a Simple plan thats like a 401k
but not...but you money get out of your check before taxes...consults an independant financial planner and see what they say you should do according to your imcome.

IRA. You determine the contribution in an IRA up to $4000 (or is it $4500? I can't remember) currently. The amount you can contribute changes. Then you just hope you invest those funds right.

IRA's are next best to 401k's. You also can invest additional amounts in regular (taxable) mutual funds. The amount needed is a whole other question. See retirement planning calculators at Fidelity, Vanguard, or T Rowe Price.

for all people, the answer would be to open roth ira. you can put in about 5k per year and have it grow like any other investment would. the good news is that your withdrawals are tax free

Nobody an predict the future, and you can't tell in advance how good your investments will do.

I think this is a good strategy:

1. If you don't make a lot of money (have little taxes), put money into a Roth IRA.

2. If you need a tax deduction now, put money into a traditional IRA.

3. Have a seperate "emergency" account for emergencies.

4. Have a seperate "Sink" account for saving up for large purchases.

Also consider this, retirement is an admirable goal, and so is retiring early. The more you save for retirement, the sooner and better you can retire.

What most people call "Rich", is someone who can live off of their investments, and don't have to work for a living.

The IRS allows in some cases, allows you take early withdrawals out of retirement accounts based on your life expectancy, penalty free. The catch is, that you have to have enough money in the accounts, to make it worthwhile.

The benefit you get out of an IRA depends on how much you put into it. It sounds like you need to talk to a certified financial planner to decide how much you should be setting aside for retirement every month. Roth IRAs are usually a good idea. However, your life may contain some unusual circumstances that make a Roth IRA a bad idea.

Please read the educational essays on retirement on www.bankrate.com and www.fool.com

And please read the book "The Automatic Millionaire" by David Bach. It is such a good book.