How Long Will Your $1 Million Last In Retirement?

IBD ^ | 10/29/2019 | Paul Katzeff

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Congratulations! Your retirement planning paid off. You built a $1 million retirement nest egg. But how long will $1 million last in retirement?

Retirement Planning To Make Your $1 Million Last

Let's say you're 65 years old and earn $115,000 a year. That's a decent annual income, but it's no king's ransom. It's enough to let you sock away good chunks of money each year. But it's not so high that it trips over income limits when it comes to saving in a retirement plan such as a 401(k).

The simple arithmetic answer to the how-long-will-it-last retirement planning question is that your savings would last less than nine years. That's how many years in a row you can subtract $115,000 from $1 million.

And less than nine years is not very long if you're healthy and have a normal life expectancy.

The average American's life expectancy is now 78.6 years, as of 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). But for a 65 year old, it's closer to 20 additional years, according to CDC data. So, if you retire at age 65 and you're typical, you can expect to live to nearly 85. Nine years of money does not cut it.

Put Your Retirement Nest Egg To Work

But your $1 million nest egg can last longer. Here's how.

First, the simple arithmetic calculation of dividing $1 million by $115,000 assumes that your nest egg would not grow over time.

In fact, it certainly would grow, given enough time. The stock market has rebounded from setbacks over time.

So how have real investors fared in recent years?

[Magnum44]

lol

[setter]

“If you’re earning $115K/year and have a net worth of only $1M, you’re an idiot. You’ve frittered away a fortune by keeping up with the Jones”

Depends on what area of the country you live in.

[Regulator]

You win

It’s a stupid article

[Pollster1]

This is stupid. You withdraw a fixed percentage per year, or a slowly rising percentage if you want to draw down your capital rather than passing it on to your heirs. You do not withdraw a fixed dollar amount mindlessly. Live within your means, and you can live forever on $1M.

[Fightin Whitey]

Oh...I just thought you were crying out loud.

[allwrong57]

As far as retirement, when I can’t work, I’m thinking a nice quiet place in the woods where I used to hunt, a gun and one bullet should work.

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

bkmrk

[hollywood]

Actually, I lose and I’m the stupid one. Turns out what I pointed out in my previous reply was discussed further down in the article. I just didn’t read the whole article and simply reacted to the “above the fold” content that was posted. DOH!

[HotHunt]

This kind of article is why I never believed in "investment advisors" for retirement advice. I had one for a while. He was fraternity brother from college. He advised us to do everything the opposite of what we ended up doing ourselves.

My wife and I both retired with a small pension each and Social Security benefits. We only had $350,000 in savings. We had almost $700,000 in retirement funds but lost half of it in the stock market crash in the fall of 2008 right before we were to retire. Everybody told us we couldn't retire when we did but we went with our own instincts and Plan B and did anyway.

We spent money from our savings to buy 30 acres of land and built a new house. We started a beef cattle operation to keep us busy. We had $100,000 of the original $350,000 left over and left it in the bank. I would never risk it in the stock market again, not at our age. We could never earn it back again if we lost it.

We have lived comfortably now for ten years on our retirement income cash flow, even managing to increase our savings account balance from $100,000 to $150,000 over that ten years.

We have absolutely no debt. We pay cash for everything. We both have VA medical care from our military service. Even with income and property taxes, insurance, utilities, fuel, some groceries and incidentals, we actually live better now than when we were working in our careers for a living and raising a family. On much less income.

We don't live the high life but we don't live frugally either. We want for nothing. My wife travels with her mom 3 or 4 times a year and splurges on the grandkids. We eat out seldom because we have our own meat, fruits and vegetables in the freezers from the farm. Our cars are not brand new but we maintain them and they will last for quite a few more years. Nobody out here in the country cares what kind of car you have. New cars are a waste of money because they depreciate in value so fast.

We figure we will continue to live comfortably for at least another 10-15 years and by then one or both of us will probably be in the family cemetery we have on our property.

One doesn't need some expensive investment advisor to tell you you need a million dollars or more in the bank to live on in retirement. Use your head and do what you think is right. It works for us.

[Daniel Ramsey]

The IRS will find ways to garnish all of it.

[teeman8r]

i am on the federal penitentiary retirement plan... when i am 72 i go into the IRS office and punch an agent. plead guilty and go to federal prison for three hots and a cot... not to mention golf and tennis and all the anal sex i can take.

i meant annual sex... darn autoconnect.

[babble-on]

Very well said. I was about to post the same points but you made them more succinctly than I could have.

A million dollars is a decent retirement plan nest egg, if you assume social security is there and you don’t live like Kanye Kardashian.

I do think that for people in their mid- 50s a visit to a serious fee-only financial planner is a few thousand dollars that might be well spent. Not a salesman, just a planner.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Take a friendly Democrat with you.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Do they have a lot of shooting ranges in Mexico?

[napscoordinator]

115,000 a year? Good grief. You definitely can live on 40-50 easily. If your house is not paid off then 70.

[napscoordinator]

I actually think vacation trips are something that families enjoy and remember for ever. I think more should spend time together. The problem is people like you who don’t think spending time together is a good investment. It is! And on your death bed that extra 5 grand in your bank account is not going with you. But the memory of that vacation will stay with those you left behind. America is going towards your thinking unfortunately. Probably a great reason we are in the mess we’re in.

[mewzilla]

And if you need long term care. Assisted living to skilled nursing runs 6 to 10 grand a month around my neck of the Upstate NY woods.

[dakine]

More than a few folks on FR make on the plus side of $115k...

[stylin19a]

based on that life expectancy chart...no-one was to collect SS...they would die first.

Life expectancy, for a 1935 birth, in 1935 was 59.9 for a male and 63.9 for a female. Life expectancy changes depending on whatever your age is at any given time other than birth. If one was born in 1900, average life expectancy at that time, was 49 for female and 47 for males...

https:https://www.infoplease.com/life-expectancy-birth-race-and-sex-1930-2010

(this builds a table and will probably slow your PC down for awhile) They use 65 as retirement age. That is no longer full retirement age for SS. It's scaled upward depending on date of birth, so the SS stats are kind whacked.

Max SS per month(if you've paid in max all the time) as of 2019 is:

$2,209 at age 62.
$2,861 at age 66.
$3,770 at age 70.

They also make a presumption that you want to keep the same income you had while working, of a 115k a year in retirement. That's misleading and their "example" probably can get by on less and maintain the same lifestyle.

[Be Free]

"I retired at 69 6 years ago and now have a net worth much higher than when I was 65."

Donald Trump says "You're welcome!" & "K.A.G.!"