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How much you should save depends on when you start saving. If you're 22, you can save 7-10% and retire VERY comfortably.
I didn't start until my late 20s so I'm saving 21% pretax. I'm married w/ no kids.
If someone tells you that you should save 20%+ at your age, they're blowing smoke.
check out
www.bankrate.com and play around w/ their retirement calculators for an idea. keep in mind, the stock market has historically returned ~10% annually when calculating returns.
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First off doing % here can be really misleading. If you are making 30K a year, you are going to have to spend most of your money on housing and other basics. If you make 70K you have a lot more flexibility. One size doesn't fit all.
I wonder why do you feel 20% is excessive for a young person to save? If you figure saving later in life is likely to be a lot harder (ie when you have kid expenses and you probably dont' want as many room mates),your money will have less time to multiply and even saving 20% you probably have more spending money than ever.