That’s an excellent question!  And one without easy answers; a person who can help you begin your savings journey and establish your goals is a qualified accounting professional. 

He or she is in the business of “translating” financial language into something “the rest of us” can understand.  They know the right questions to prompt you into considering important retirement parameters like:  When would you like to retire?  What is your expected or desired retirement lifestyle?  Do you want to work part-time in retirement?  What percentage of your current income would you like to maintain during retirement?  Do you have serious health problems?  Do you want to leave your heirs a nice “nest egg”?

These difficult and complicated questions (plus many more) have to be considered before you can arrive at that magic “how much” number.  There are professionals who specialize in retirement planning.  I urge you to consult with one; retirement will be here before you know it!

I think you need a lot more detail to get that answer, contact a profesiional or go on online and buy some nasic planning software like www.jrplaning.com for do it yourself software or www.execplanexpress.com for more advanced planning projections.  You could also go to staples.com and by off the shelf stuff, but you are better off using application the professionals use