is still there when you are ready…..what amount do you need/want saved to live comfortably at retirement??
Asking 4 a friend…
Asking 4 a friend…
Assuming that Social Security……
- Thread starter Eastmandawg
- Start date
I want enough to maintain my standard of living pre-retirement. YMMV.
Being born in the late 60's I have always planned on SS not being there for my generation. As such, we saved hard and maxed out our contributions from our mid 20's for retirement. So if there is no SS we will be ok. We were both fortunate to work at companies that did not have pension plans and instead offered a nice 401 match for over 25 years.
If you are counting on Social Security alone then you deserve what you get!
A million in an annuity now yields close to 50k per year. That plus two SSs, assuming your wife gets one, would be a nice income. Of course you can’t count on yields staying near 5%.
To live comfortably, I’d say one million with two SSs, maybe 1.5 with one. Of course you could make it with less. The most important thing is getting the house paid off as early as possible.
Nobody knows where we’re headed, but it might be to some tough times. I stockpile some water, some long shelf-life food, and some metals. And ammunition, of course. And medical stuff.
I can tell you retirement is worth working toward and you’ll be amazed when the two girls become self sufficient. I have three, one married ultra rich, and the other two required some help. Getting them squared away is like getting a huge raise and your savings will reflect that.
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Cleaning up debt, including mortgage, is key going into retirement.
Not necessarily. I retired, moved and built a house. Could have paid cash, but financed half of it on a 30 year mortgage. 2.7% is almost like free money and when I die I could care less if the house is paid off. My son prolly wishes I paid cash, but he'll deal with it.
House paid for, virtually debt free other than taxes.
An annuity may not be for me/us.Maxing out 401 K with 6% match, maxing out an IRA Roth & spilling the rest over to savings with 5% interest for now….
Feels like the 1 mil bar has moved to more like 3 mil now. That 18% since 2021 will do it.
Yep, kids are expensive….thanks!
I wasn’t suggesting an annuity for those shy of retirement. But as you age, getting some money out of the markets can become problematic unless a lot of the investments are in sheltered accounts. Otherwise the tax man gonna bite you when you sell. It helps to start planning early so you don’t end up with a lot of 1000% gainers in non-sheltered accounts. Fixed deferred annuities level the ups and downs when in retirement. And if in a non-sheltered account, you don’t have to withdraw unless you need the money. Thus, the “deferred” part. If you don’t withdraw the gains are not taxed. As you get older you have less time to recover from a crash. It took NASDAQ ten years to recover from the 1999/2000 crash. There are lots of reasons fixed deferred annuities are good for retirees. It’s said that nobody has ever lost money on one in the US.
Meant to put for now at the end of sentence. My Dad also had one……may entertain it as the time gets closer.
Gotta start taking it this year but really don’t need any money from Social Security. No debt and I’ve been able to purchase now a 4th house “all cash” in the last few years for my own use. Wife doesn’t want to be a landlord. Still able to keep my full salary at my age and get monthly dividends from the business. Don’t have children so at some point I’ll need to figure out what I‘m going to do with my company stock among other things. I know my situation isn’t typical so I don’t have any advice to impart to anyone. Maybe just don’t buy the most expensive anything, even if you can afford it and be thankful for everything you do have.
Congrats to you, wealth is built slowly....sounds like you and your wife did a great job.
On a side not, got a friend here in Saint Louis that has 60 plus rentals (last count) and also close to retirement age. They are mostly all homes. He and his wife do not want to be a "landlord" any longer also.
It all can become a headache, he's definitely gonna sell off when the time comes.
Good luck to you!
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