Once Barry reaches his goal of turning America into a third world country for his friends at the UN, retirement will become a thing of the past. That’s the plan.
Agree...
If u think it’s short now, just wait until the bottom falls out of the market. It’s coming!
Personally, I think people are planning on retiring TOO early.....most 60 yr olds are really like 45 yr olds 40 years ago.....ya ain’t old!
I have friends, a couple in their early 60’s. They had a paid-for home. About 5 years ago, they sold the home and built a new, bigger one with a mortgage. [I thought they were crazy— and the economy was still good.] The husband’s 401K lost about 60% of its value. She can’t retire, although she’s reached the point where, physically, she needs to. He’d like to retire, but he shouldn’t with the way their retirement income looks. People need to plan for the worst and hope for the best.
LOL. Retirement. That’s a good one!
You make some valid points. I personally am afraid to retire, even though I could based on the old ‘30 and out’. I could collect a full pension but I’m only 50 years old. No way I would feel comfortable that my savings and pension would last for the rest of my life.
Baby Boomers: they grew up little Marxists in the 60’s thinking the world owes them everything because mommy and daddy handed them everything.
So now they’re going to tax their kids to make up the shortfall of their Socialist theories.
Don’t worry: most will vote Obama the next election.
Maybe they can work part time at low-stress jobs.
Retired at 59 with modest income, but the key was zero debt, to include no credit card balances carried forward and no house payment. Unfortunately, from first hand experience in the retirement community I live in "we" are in the minority. Many people service debt to the grave. Of course our government doesn't get it either.
I wish you well and sure you will do fine if you have all your debt retired long before you do.
I think most people under 55 years old will not be able to retire comfortably. They may need at augment their retirement income with some level of continued employment. And if you are 55-60 that you may have to come out of retirement at some time.
The rate at which the Fed is printing money will devalue retirement savings. Medical coverage will be harder to find, even after Obamacare is buried - there will just be too many old people.
This retired Boomer finds the government fell short.
My guess from many of the people I know is they have large homes, go out to eat frequently, travel abroad and love their large cars, boats and big screen TVs too much to have saved.
Two rules
1 - Spend less than you make
2 - Always have a plan for when the money stops coming in.
If you do that, you will be better off than those that don’t
There are no guarantees in life, and even the best prepared people are sometimes surprised by what life sends them.
It would just be worse if you are not prepared
Too bad we can’t all be public union pensioners.
Why does Mr Rutschmann have a heavy mortgage at age 60?
How can you expect to carry on a large lifestyle like that in retirement?
Down size and move someplace inexpensive, you can enjoy yourself and do all the things you wanted to do while still being comfortable.
I’m 60 and have no desire to retire, but the trick is finding an employer who will hire me at my age.
I tried to do everything right. I have no debts. I’ve been a conservative all my life. Not all boomers were hippies.
“When I finish paying my debt, I imagine I would only need 40% of my working income to be comfortable. 60-80% would make it luxurious. :)”
We have been retired for quite a few years. While we require much less income now than during our working years, we didn’t factor in a 100 fold increase in property taxes or the additional taxes larded onto the property like rainwater tax, recycling fees, and so forth.
We are positioned for many financial buffettings, however, one can’t foresee all that could occur.
You need that extra 60 -80% not for luxurious living, but to account for the price hikes in everything along with medical expenses.
Just FWIW from a retiree.
*Not to mention helping the adult kids’ needs when emergencies occur or they lose their jobs.
When I reach retirement age (70+), my 401(k) will be mine to do with as I please. If I die, then I can will that money over to my grandkids. As for my Social Security, I will be at the mercy of government to give me whatever they deem fit for me to have. And if I die, my grandkids get nothing. Which sounds like the better deal to you?
Let's take someone who works 40 hours a week making $10/hr. If that person took 12% of their income and invested it in something yielding 5% (compounded quarterly), and did so from the age of 25 to 65, they would have over $300,000. If that same person lived to be 85, they would have enough money to draw $2100 per month for 20 years. Does Social Security offer monthly payments of $2100 to workers making $10/hr their whole lives?
On the other hand, price inflation will eat up your retirement if you don’t account for it when you determine how large a nest egg you’ll need. And you need to watch out for unreported price increases as well. Just because the government says inflation is 2% doesn’t mean that the things you need to buy haven’t gone up way more than that (like food, medicine, and energy).