Whether it's because the retirement age is getting older and older, because you're not sure you'll have all the quarters you need for a full pension, or because your current salary won't be enough, saving is the best way to ensure a peaceful retirement.
The sooner you start saving for your retirement, the easier it will be to build a comfortable income in your later years.
In order to help you get started as quickly as possible, and without plunging you into complex and boring financial calculations, we have summarized in a few simple steps the process to follow.
1. Decide at what age you will retire
Currently the minimum retirement age in France is 60 and from 2017 it will be 62. You don't have to follow the government's plans, but what you do need to know is is that the lower your retirement age, the greater your savings effort will be because of the number of years to be taken into account. This brings us to the next step.
2. Calculate how many years you will need to take into account
This is the maximum number of years you will have left to live after you retire. Based on the life expectancy of your parents and grandparents, you can get a fairly accurate idea. This will allow you to avoid finding yourself in a precarious financial state or saving more than necessary.
3. Estimate your expenses as a retiree
It is likely that your expenses will decrease when you retire. You can therefore simply assume that you will need 75% to 80% of your current income to subsist.
4. Take into account your experience
Whether it's the number of quarters you have validated with the pension system or the money you have already put aside, it's best to have a general idea of what you have so you can subtract it from the amount you need to save for your retirement.
A simulator such as that of the savings bank, will make your life easier by giving you an estimate of the amounts that the state will pay you according to your current profile.
5. Calculate what you need to save
In the end, you can make a simple calculation of what you need to save for your retirement by multiplying your expenses for one year by the number of years you want to take into account and then subtracting your assets from the result.
