Today, I am 30 years old and would like to retire at age 62, 65, 67, etc. I expect I will need $10,000 per month during retirement and hope to live till 85 years old. I have about $50K already saved today. I will likely be aggressive in my early stage of investment (pre-retirement) and seek annual returns of 8%. But as I approach my intended retirement age, I will probably turn more conservative and invest in safer assets at annual returns of 5%.

Question: How much will I need to save every month prior to retirement to achieve my goal?

Guidance. There is no standard playbook for retirement. Consider your own situation to plan accordingly, and certainly not limited to the following in your posting:

0. What are the typical factors which might affect your plan and monthly retirement expenses? Age, single or married, state of health, children/dependents, frugal versus lavish retirement lifestyle, where to retire, etc.?
1. Do you have any financial liabilities during the periods of saving for your retirement? Auto loans, housing loans, college loans, personal loans, credit card debt? How does these affect your plan?
2. Assumptions on annual rate of return of retirement savings and inflation rate during retirement age might be helpful.
3. A sketch of a typical TVM timeline from "25 to 65" [working and saving for retirement] and from "65 to 85" [retired already and spending your retirement savings] might be helpful. And start filling in these factors (numerical assumptions) from [a] and [b] to help in your TVM calculations.
4. COVID-19 impact: would this ongoing situation factor into your retirement plan? E.g. extend your working years, reduce your ability/amount to save on an annual basis, etc.?
5. Use an Excel if you need to and you can override any of the above variables, i.e. use numbers, targets [when to retire, how many retirement years, amount needed], TVM timelines that best suit your situation.
6. Feel free to apply what you read and learn in this week's module content -- "TVM" and "Risk and Return".
7. Are you familiar with any national-level, employer-provided, and/or employee-provided retirement saving schemes? PS: this is a class with students from all over the world.
   • For example, in the United States, they have the Social Security and Medicare System, 401K plans, Individual Retirement Account IRA, and even the IRA Roth variant.
   • In most countries, there are similar Pension Systems with designated retirement age(s). Feel free to comment any of these that might be applicable to your situation.
8. We respect your privacy, "only disclose what you feel comfortable with", e.g. stay away from exact/actual annual salary, tax schemes, etc.