[tripods68]

Since scfr asked the question, it is obviously relevant to him.

I'll try to be specific. The home equity does add value to your retirement nests eggs, if for instance, paid off your home and decide to cash out. It wouldn't be prudent to expect home value to go up year-after-year since it increases uncertainty in retirement planning. But it adds certainty if you have paid off your home outright. Anything that adds value to the home would simply be "icing on the cake". Downsizing is very common; kids are all grown and hopefully moved out after college. So you decide to rent or buy a condo instead. Those gains eventually becomes part of your estate. It is true, millions of Americans uses their equity gains from selling their homes as part their nest eggs. So we can't discount this fact. However, no one else is better of knowing what you will need to fund retirements better than yourself. That percentage will change year-after-year as you climb up in corporate ladder (i.e salary increases, bigger stock options awards, and bonuses) as you get closer to your retirement age. Your decision to retire will also be based on build asset mixtures and returns over the years (i.e., 401K or ROTH). Have you achieved the kinds of returns you expected with your asset allocation mixtures? If so, is that enough to retire on with your expected Social Security benefit less expenses? How aggressive can you be on your asset allocations to reach your goal?

I still go back to the traditional way to best gauge what you need upon retirement. How much do you make now, and how much of that you will need to live on comfortably upon retirement? Can you and your wife retire on one income at a lower percentage? Keep in mind, you won't be paying anymore social security, no defer comp, no SDI, union dues etc, house paid for. You will also be saving gas and the wear and tear of your car. Whatever that percentage is (50%, 60% or 80%) that should be the goal you should aim for. I guess, you need to be consistent saver no matter what life throws at you. Easy to talk a lot harder to execute.