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I'm 63 and my wife is 62. We are planning to retire and would like to retire sooner versus later. My question to those of you who have already retired...how much is "enough" in savings?
I'm probably being overly cautious in planning. House is paid for...no bills other than ongoing expenses. Property taxes are low in the Phoenix area, where we live. We do not have pensions but our combined social security benefit at 65 will be about $4,500/month. I project that we will have about $900k in 401ks when we reach 65. We like to travel - four decent trips (cruises, etc) per year currently and would like to keep that up.
So retirees...when did you retire and how did your financial plans play out? Thanks!
there really is no specific answer to how much is enough , it is like asking how long is a rope ???
we all made different amounts working , live in different areas and have standards for lifestyle ...
most of us take what we have to work with , back in to the amount and make it work ...
anyway , retired almost 4 years ago in ny ... so far so good and financially we are well ahead thanks to the decades strong gains . we have been spending 6 figures a year and are higher then the day we retired . i took ss at 65 my wife at 62
Just a few misc thoughts on the subject...things i think about on "what's enough". Won't share my details as I'm not the typical retiree since I have a military pension with health care. Nothing like what the typical retiree faces and I'm aware/thankful.
You'll spend more during the go-go phase of retirement.....your housing and transportation needs should decrease as well as expenses related to your occupation. You'll start hobbies that takes money. I bought a small RV nd travel FL to western states, that's where a large chunk of my discretionary funds are going lately. I expect that in 10 yrs I'll slow down, not venture too far, do cheap things like fitness, reading, listening to music, playing tennis.....Nothing terrible costly. Slow go for me.....
You'll need to look at health care cost, long term care costs/insurance, etc.
The market improvement from the yr I retired. 2009 to today has been a blessing. Had it not corrected, I'd likely be more cautious and tighter with my spending spending. Guess my point is the portfolio might look good now, but that can change in the course of a market downturn.....
Today retirees are living into 80's and beyond. Who knows what health care programs, cost of autos, insurance, etc will be in 3-4 decades.......also, back to the market, getting conservative too early with investments may not be wise as if you live another 30+ yrs, you'll need that money to grow.....
I'm 63 and my wife is 62. We are planning to retire and would like to retire sooner versus later. My question to those of you who have already retired...how much is "enough" in savings?
I'm probably being overly cautious in planning. House is paid for...no bills other than ongoing expenses. Property taxes are low in the Phoenix area, where we live. We do not have pensions but our combined social security benefit at 65 will be about $4,500/month. I project that we will have about $900k in 401ks when we reach 65. We like to travel - four decent trips (cruises, etc) per year currently and would like to keep that up.
So retirees...when did you retire and how did your financial plans play out? Thanks!
Wife and I are slightly younger than you and your spouse and I retired just over 3 months ago and so far our spending has been considerably higher than expected due to trips, buying different things for the house, and helping our kids out. We couldn't make it on your plan but we grew accustomed to a more costly lifestyle but I think a frugal couple could do quite well with your plan. So far, despite our spending, our net worth has shot up in retirement...but I do expect it to take some dips when the market goes through its periodic huge drops.
We are planning to leave our kids a considerable inheritance, if you don't have kids or don't plan to do that, it should be much easier to maintain your lifestyle in retirement.
As far as how much is enough, for some people it could be $300K and for others $10M or more....just depends on your frugal or expensive spending habits and wishes.
I'm 63 and my wife is 62. We are planning to retire and would like to retire sooner versus later. My question to those of you who have already retired...how much is "enough" in savings?
I'm probably being overly cautious in planning. House is paid for...no bills other than ongoing expenses. Property taxes are low in the Phoenix area, where we live. We do not have pensions but our combined social security benefit at 65 will be about $4,500/month. I project that we will have about $900k in 401ks when we reach 65. We like to travel - four decent trips (cruises, etc) per year currently and would like to keep that up.
So retirees...when did you retire and how did your financial plans play out? Thanks!
medical coverage if you are under 65 is a horror in arizona .. at age 60 my sister got quotes of 1400 a month in north mesa just for her with huge deductibles ..there are few companies selling insurance in her area ... she ended up going back to work for the min hours it takes to get covered at work ... that sucked
............. We do not have pensions but our combined social security benefit at 65 will be about $4,500/month. I project that we will have about $900k in 401ks when we reach 65.
So retirees...when did you retire and how did your financial plans play out? Thanks!
Using your numbers and an industry common factor:
$4500 per month equates to $54,000 annually
$900K of savings and a 4% assumed SWR (Safe Withdrawal Rate) equates to $36,000 annually (note: a few people are now advocating a 3% rate but 4% has been the norm for decades)
So the question to you and your wife is; "Can the two of you live comfortably on an annual income of $90,000?"
FireCalc says that you will have a 96 percent success rate at withdrawing 35000 a year. With the most likely scenario being you have 1.7 million after 30 years. So, the question, as others have said is, can you live the lifestyle you want on 7500 dollars per month?
With a paid for home, I think most people would be extremely happy with 90k per year in retirement.
Lol, guess Roger and I were channeling the same thoughts.
FireCalc says that you will have a 96 percent success rate at withdrawing 35000 a year. With the most likely scenario being you have 1.7 million after 30 years. So, the question, as others have said is, can you live the lifestyle you want on 7500 dollars per month?
With a paid for home, I think most people would be extremely happy with 90k per year in retirement.
Lol, guess Roger and I were channeling the same thoughts.
Unless you know their intended allocation those success rates can be wrong on firecalc ... I don’t see any place the op stated intended allocation. if i remember the default is something like 75% equities
Last edited by mathjak107; 04-10-2019 at 06:10 AM..
I had an experience a few months ago with a woman that was at a local rotary meeting. She had been retired a number of years. I asked her about the decision. She said she reached a point where she said whatever she had, it was going to have to be enough. The job stress was too much and she retired. She had no regrets. So maybe you need to make the same decision. Whatever you have, go with it.
I had an experience a few months ago with a woman that was at a local rotary meeting. She had been retired a number of years. I asked her about the decision. She said she reached a point where she said whatever she had, it was going to have to be enough. The job stress was too much and she retired. She had no regrets. So maybe you need to make the same decision. Whatever you have, go with it.
There could be health, energy issues, or just emotionally dreading work that could lead one to that decision...for sure I could have retired a few years earlier if I had one of those situations and just lived on less....in the end, I just lacked the motivation to continue.
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