There are a handful of roadblocks that retirement savers encounter. Here's how to overcome them. : Most of the roadblocks to saving for retirement are artificial. We impose them on ourselves; it holds us back from saving what we need to retire comfortably. When people ask me how much to save for retirement, my response is simple: Shoot for 15% of your annual income, but try to save as much as you can if you can't hit that mark. During my peak earning years, my target was about one-third of my pre-tax savings.