Heh, sorry can't help myself from chiming in when I see posts like that. From this blog post:
It's incredibly important to save while your young, even a small amount helps. If your company sucks, doesn't match 401ks or other reasons, Roth IRAs are a typical vehicle for this. The limit is $5,500 as long as you make under 6 figures. Why Roth's are bananas great: The money in your Roth grows tax free. On top of that, you can take out the principle (the money you put in) if you hit a life emergency and need the cash. That's why there is an income limit, its basically a really awesome savings vehicle designed for middle class Americans.John* starts putting $100 a month in his Roth at age 25 until he’s 65. When he retires he’ll have $1,100,000. (assuming compound interest around 8%)
Yep! Inflation adjusted. However $100 a month for your entire retirement is pretty small. Here's another look with a little more put into investing: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/04/02/the-extraordinary-power-of-compound-interest/ And again, this is doing it all yourself, in a Roth, no company match. Gets a lot easier if your company helps.