There are a million reasons why you shouldn’t depend on social security for your retirement.  The biggest one is it just isn’t enough to comfortably live on when you need to retire, not to mention WANT to retire.  The next best option and overly under used is the 401k.  Often a company will match a percentage of what you make if you put it into this retirement account.  That’s a 100% return instantly.  You want that 5% raise just put 5% of your money into the 401k with a match and WHAMO 5% raise.  Don’t worry there are 401k rollovers available if you leave the company.  You just need to take the initiative to mark on your form with finance to start withholding money from your check.  Do it!  The sooner you start the better your retirement will be.