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How much $ will you need to retire comfortably ?

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Bernie2

Bernie2

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This study was done by the Merrill Edge Report Fall 2016. 19% had no idea how much they would need.

9% will need 2 M +

14% will need 1 - 2 M

24% will need 500K - 1 M

23% will need 100 -500 K

9 % will need 0 - 100 K

19% didn't know

Even though many underestimated the magic number
40% said it would difficult to reach or virtually unattainable

That says a lot or so I think.
 
I won't have enough to retire comfortably.

On the other hand, these financial institutions over-estimate how much people will need to retire comfortably. I took a few of those retirement readiness calculators and they have have me way, way underfunded. First off, they assume I'm living until 97. That ain't happening.
 
By the time I retire in a year or two my mortgage should be paid off so I should be able to make do with about $50k a year pension. I won't be taking out social security until 66 1/2 so I may take out an extra $500 a month out of my deferred comp account until I can collect social security. Then I expect to get about $2k a month from social security so making around $75k I should be able to live comfortably and go to vegas and elsewhere a few times a year. This doesn't even include any money I would get if/when my mom passes away, she is in her late 80's and not doing so well. She has a house and 3 condos so if I get half of that (splitting with my brother) then I would get the rent from those places to help me out. I would probably save that money though, when I start to get health issues or need to go to a care home that will be my nest egg to pay for it.
 
My bride and I have a "target retirement date" discrepancy of about 15 years.
Looks like I'll get in a decade and a half of solo trips after all!

RICHARD
 
Assuming a 25 year retirement, $1M gives you $40k per year to live on.

Conversely, you must save $40k per year for 25 years to have $1M to retire on.
 
I don't plan to ever retire. Or I should say I'll write as long as folks will pay for it. Thankfully my wife has a grown up job.
 
56% of them are just dead wrong. At minimum.
 
My wife and I have plenty (already in the 14% cat) and we have saved our whole marriage. The problem now is getting her to spend more on gambling. We live pretty well and don't want too much anyway. So retirement looks secure to us.
 
I think a more comfortable question for me is how much will you need to receive a month in retirement to maintain a happy life? Then you can move to a total amount needed based off of life expectancy, age of parents and grand parents at death and environmental influence, habits.
I take home $ XXXX amount a month now and when I retire, I will receive an amount that is the same if I plan right. If you are planning/using an investment based retirement, then you have to take in all the above factors. If you have a defined contribution pension plan, then you no longer look at total investment in dollars but investment in years to receive a % of your salary or pay. I am eligible in 6 years to retire at a rate of 78% of my pay. If I stay for 4 more years, I receive 90% of my pay. I no longer have to contribute for my retirement, medical, union dues and various other contributions.
How much do I make a year after tax and how much do I spend a year doing whatever I want to do or how much would if I just sit at home. A truly complex question. Do I cook for myself? Do I eat out every day? How many meals a day? I ponder these questions every day..... I want to have $5000 a month available to spend every month until the end.
 
mkhira2 said:
Assuming a 25 year retirement, $1M gives you $40k per year to live on.

Conversely, you must save $40k per year for 25 years to have $1M to retire on.
Click to expand...
There is such a thing as interest/dividends/investment income.
 
My advise to the people reading the information that you have to have a certain amount of money to be comfortable in your senior years is something to not worry about. I retired when I felt I needed to retire. I get less money than I used to make but I no longer have the cost of expenses that I had to pay to just go to work and had to contribute to gifts for other co-workers, lunches, dinners, gas for my car and car repairs, etc. Instead I stay home and have fun in my life. I like to visit Vegas and also enjoy going on cruises. I am very frugal and always try to save money in different ways all my life.
My standards of living has not changed at all. I retired 12 years ago and I still am happy that I retired when I did.
I still go shopping to buy me new clothes and things. I also buy me the kinds of foods I like to eat. I also go out and have an nice lunch or dinner when I feel like it.

I am not afraid of going broke in my future because I know that I will find ways to survive and still be happy. I paid up all my credit cards and had some savings and I planned what I would need when I would retire. I had bought me lots of clothes and things I would need when I retired. My plan worked out okay for me.

My advise to all of you is to just plan ahead of what your needs will be once you are retired and then have the guts to just let go of your job and have fun doing nothing except the things you enjoy doing. You can always find another job. LOL.
 
Depends on if SS is still around, which I'm planning for the worst, hoping for the best. We're in our early 40's and live in an expensive part of the country. (Which hopefully will be a plus, as we're hoping our property value goes up and up, so that we can make a tidy profit when we downsize.)

We are saving, doing 401/ira (he's more diligent than I am), and plan to sell our "hopefully greatly-appreciated home" by that time, and move to a much less expensive, and retirement-friendly tax law part of the country.

The kicker is, we want to retire younger, and who knows a) if SS will still be a supplimental income b) Medicare doesn't kick in when we want to retire, so we'll have to see what insurance costs.

Long story short, we need a lot more than we have now, and with inflation, that figure will only grow. But, we are actually pretty frugal 95% of the year, so barring that we don't experience a market bust or major health problem, we're optimistic and chucking away at that retirement fund diligently.
 
I looked at the Fidelity retirement estimator and at first look I was in the poorly prepared category. But then I looked at their estimates and the social security seemed low. So I went on SS.gov and sure enough the estimates were low. When I updated the estimated I'm doing good. But there are 2 things. One is I need to keep working and make the same money or better, but I think I'll do okay with that.

The other, and more important one, is that I have 25 years left on a mortgage with 11 years left of working, assuming I retire at 67. This assumes I want to stay in NYC in my coop, which is a good assumption. Could I make enough more money to pay off my mortgage, with some effort, yes. I could grow in my career, which I like the idea of. I could pick up extra weekend work, which eats into my desire to enjoy life, but there may be a compromise there. Win the lottery, but I don't play it.

So, short of the lottery, I better work on my career or find a cheaper place to live.
 

  • Summer Wynns
I'll have a good pension so as long as they don't kick my azz to the curb and I don't flake out and quit, I should be ok. Unfortunately I'll have to wait longer than I want, so if some great opportunity comes, I'm not going to say no either. I'd like to retire to a cheaper part of the country, work part time, and leave my kids the family home to deal with. I live modestly and am in good health, so as long as that continues I feel ok. But one never knows what the future will hold, pensions vanish, health changes, political changes, etc. I'm not afraid of the future though, who has time for that?

I'd really like the job of the guy at the Aria buffet who doles out the gelato - seems like the best job for post-retirement me!
 

  • Summer reboot!
Now that I'm retired, I still don't have a clue how much I'll need! However, two things are now clear to me. One: I made so many mistakes in planning (and not planning) that I should get an award. Two: Now that I've been living alone for more than a year (in a townhome purchased for cash), I know for sure that two CAN live nearly as cheaply as one.

That said, I finally got my first SS deposit last month at the tender young age of 69 and am searching high and low for a new significant other. The reasons have nothing to do with finances; but unless she's dirt poor, another income would go a long way toward improving the comfort factor.
 
Feb will mark my ninth year of blissful retirement. I will turn 65 in 2017.

I was fortunate to marry a like minded person who also is a saver. Over the years we sacrificed a little to fully fund IRAs, then Roth IRAs and the 401K plans. But we still managed 5 vacations per year. We've had one mortgage over the past 35 years, but we have owned 12 houses. We never needed flashy cars and never got rid of one that was under 15 years old. One was 18 years old and two others were 17 & 16 when we finally bought new ones. That is going to change now. In two months I am getting rid of my 2014 for a 2017. We're done saving, now we are in spend mode.

We started collecting our meager pensions as soon as we could and started SS at 63.

My wife starts on Medicare next year and I was kind of surprised how much the monthly premium will be. $187 plus another $40 per month for supplemental which has all sorts of co-pays. Much cheaper than what we pay now, but still a little surprising. That was the one area I didn't do much research into costs when planning our retirements.

The accepted rule of thumb is draw down your retirement savings no more than 4% per year. In the 9 years we have been retired, our investments and net worth have actually grown each year. As soon as the doggie passes away (age 12) we're looking to buy another house and become snowbirds. Life is good.

My only advice is max out every tax-deferred savings plan you can. Even if it means making some sacrifices.
 
What Joe said last. Sacrifices now can really pay for you in the long run. And I remember being young and one of the few looking that far ahead but having just turned 64 I too retired from a real job / profession 9 years ago. Worked part time at a golf course to have disposable vegas cash land finally separated from the job market in January. Pay off the house(s) and keep afloat from debt.
 
I really cant even guess how much income I need, since gambling is the #1 variable. Should I plan on being lucky or unlucky?
 
I have been running the numbers a fair amount recently. I did use the Fidelity calculator among a few others and the Fidelity did give me the highest number by a bit of a margin. It wasn't completely unrealistic but I thought it was a little high. That said, I am absolutely trying to save as much as possible, both in my 401K, a Roth and taxable accounts. My current house, if I decide not to move, would be paid off before I retire. I will most likely move to a smaller house or a townhouse as my current house is a bit more than I need at this stage in my life.
 
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