My FIL is retiring this year. He's gotten to the point of hating his job so decided to retire early. They spoke to their finance guy and decided it would be tight, but they could make it work given their 401k savings and the house is paid off. Probably meant less vacations and fun stuff, but they could do it.
Then the finance guy looks over everything and says "What's this $1300/month pension from your work?" My FIL had a $16k/yr pension coming that he completely forgot about. Good times.
Yeah at that age you would assume no mortgage so really its monthly bills and taxes.My moms pension will essentially pay her a $50,000 salary until she passes. She and my dad will never be “rich” but not a terrible income stream when you have zero debt.
For another 5 or 6 years according to the last estimate i've seen.At least they will get SS...
How can anyone retire on $144K
How can anyone retire on $144K
This is another aspect that hasn't been discussed yet...lots of people don't realize how much you need to save to even have a modest retirement.
My brother is 44, so he's got 20-25 years left. He probably makes $60k or so, and his wife probably as much as he does. I think he's put the bare minimum into his retirement, and definitely has not paid attention to how much he SHOULD put in. My dad mentioned to him that he should strive to get at least $1M in savings by the time he retires. My brother didn't believe him and basically told him it was impossible to save that much money.
Contribution limits were between $1,500 to $2,000 up until 2002. Also non working spouse was allowed to contribute $250 until 1998. Not sure employers really matched IRA contributions back then either. IRA was first started in 1974. 1981 it started getting more popular. Not really surprised.
https://dqydj.com/historical-ira-contribution-limit/
Keep in mind, several people within the boomer generation have jobs that provide a pension plan.
11 year Bull run sure..and then a massive swipe that’s occurring right now.
this attitude is pervasive and limits people improving their lives. this is not a judgment or criticism of him, but if you never think you're going to be or have anything why start? i saw that attitude a lot when i worked for a non-profit. the people we helped weren't bad or stupid, they just didn't think spending money on dumb stuff was a bad idea because they knew they'd never have much. if you'll never have much why strive to start?
i started saving cash in middle school and started saving for retirement when i got my first job a decade ago. it was only $50/month at the time but now i'm maxing out my Roth IRA and putting 10% into my 401k plan. paying off student loans was the biggest single influence in me being able to save more money.
The median boomer retirement account value is only $144,000. That seems really, really low for folks 65+, especially when we hear how boomers have all the wealth in the country. And this is after an historic 11-year bull run. Really hits home for the younger folks on here to start saving early.
https://madison.com/business/investment/personal-finance/the-median-retirement-savings-balance-among-baby-boomers-is-shockingly-low/article_333016c3-5318-51cf-b17e-ad35f1055554.html#:~:text=The median savings balance among,amount of work to do.
this attitude is pervasive and limits people improving their lives. this is not a judgment or criticism of him, but if you never think you're going to be or have anything why start? i saw that attitude a lot when i worked for a non-profit. the people we helped weren't bad or stupid, they just didn't think spending money on dumb stuff was a bad idea because they knew they'd never have much. if you'll never have much why strive to start?
i started saving cash in middle school and started saving for retirement when i got my first job a decade ago. it was only $50/month at the time but now i'm maxing out my Roth IRA and putting 10% into my 401k plan. paying off student loans was the biggest single influence in me being able to save more money.
My brother is defeatist, so his attitude doesn't surprise me. He owns a brand new truck ($35k +/-) a brand new motorcycle ($10k +/-) and travels the country every summer to go to dirt track races. Yet, within 30 seconds of ever speaking to him, he'll starting complaining about how he has no money and is being screwed by anyone and everyone. Life is about making choices and accepting what comes with them. It's ok to have nice toys, but you can't then complain that you have no money when you're dropping 25% of your income on said toys.
hmm, and I thought I was below normal. It appears I'm better off than I thought after I retired.
So he collects depreciating assets and doesn't realize thats part of his problem. His attitude is very common unfortunately. People don't attain a million net worth by living this way, so in reality he's right...
Lucky for him, its not too late to start to turn it around.