The ludicrous "you need a $million to retire" mantra financial companies try to tell you.

[WorldWatcher]

Unless our plans change I will start at 65 and my wife at 62, which is when we will retire.

Golfing Gator / Gunny,

Just wondering...

..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... Did you go with the SBP option?

WW

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Golfing Gator / Gunny,

Just wondering...

..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... Did you go with the SBP option?

WW

Nope. I retired from the Marines at the ripe old age of 45. Assuming I live to be 85 that means I would have been getting less money for 40 years so that my wife might be able to get a percent of that for a few years after I die.

There are far better ways to make sure she is taken care of if I die before her

 

[WorldWatcher]

Nope. I retired from the Marines at the ripe old age of 45. Assuming I live to be 85 that means I would have been getting less money for 40 years so that my wife might be able to get a percent of that for a few years after I die.

There are far better ways to make sure she is taken care of if I die before her

Fair enough.

I looked at it at retiring at 38 that if I got T-boned by a drunk driver at the age of 39 what would happen to my wife and two young kids.

Thanks,

WW

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Fair enough.

I looked at it at retiring at 38 that if I got T-boned by a drunk driver at the age of 39 what would happen to my wife and two young kids.

Thanks,

WW

Yeah, we talked about that as well but choose to assume I would live a good while. It has been 14 years so I guess the gamble paid off

 

[Blues Man]

I see this kind of thing a lot in my Youtube feed, because I watch financial stuff.. so these things show up a lot.
And it is almost always sponsored by Fidelity or another retirement custodian company.
Because they want as much of your money as you can possibly give them.
If people needed $1 million to retire - screw that - if people needed $500,000 to retire - NO ONE WOULD BE RETIRED.
The average net worth of people in America at age 64, removing the lowest 5% and the top 5% - is only about $200,000. And that includes the value of their home.. which for far too many people - that IS all the value they have.
So if you needed that much money - they would all still be working.

Even more absurd is companies like Fidelity tell 30 year olds - who are just starting out with children etc. - that they should have at least $50,000 in retirement savings. By 35 years old - $200,000. GTFO. No one is going to be able to do that.

My rant for the day

The amount of money you need to be financially independent varies according to the lifestyle you want to live.

If you're happy eating Ramen every day and living in a tiny apartment with a roommate then you probably don't need too much money.

The easiest way to figure out how much you need is to first get a really good handle on your expenses then build in a buffer.

The rule of thumb is for every $1000 a month you will need you need to have 150K invested at 5 % and that will last 20 years.

So if you need $3000 a month you need $450K.

Now this obviously doesn;t include any Social Security payments but you can find out what your benefit will be and factor it in.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

The amount of money you need to be financially independent varies according to the lifestyle you want to live.

If you're happy eating Ramen every day and living in a tiny apartment with a roommate then you probably don't need too much money.

The easiest way to figure out how much you need is to first get a really good handle on your expenses then build in a buffer.

The rule of thumb is for every $1000 a month you will need you need to have 150K invested at 5 % and that will last 20 years.

So if you need $3000 a month you need $450K.

Now this obviously doesn;t include any Social Security payments but you can find out what your benefit will be and factor it in.

My main beef with this wasps companies is they always portray the image that SS will be gone... who knows?? You better send us all of your money NOW!!! Your world will collapse if you don't have at least $1 million in retirement savings. Actually that number they give I have seen up to $1.3 million.
And that number never considers SS or pensions. They just ignore it.
I don't mind saying our situation...
Current SS draw at age 67 for both of us combined is $4,516/mo
I also have a 19 year pension benefit that is currently showing $1,410/mo.
So with just that, we will have $5926/mo
Minus taxes - $5100+ a month.
And we have 401k, 403b, IRA Simple and of course well into 5 figures in cash assets, and over $280,000 in equity.
We will be fine. The idea that we need another $1,000,000 on top of this is insane. Even Ramsey, who is supposed to be honest, if I use his calculator we are in trouble.
Nonsense.

 

[Zincwarrior]

What happens if Congress decides to reduce or get rid of Social Security and Medicare?

 

[WorldWatcher]

My main beef with this wasps companies is they always portray the image that SS will be gone... who knows?? You better send us all of your money NOW!!! Your world will collapse if you don't have at least $1 million in retirement savings. Actually that number they give I have seen up to $1.3 million.
And that number never considers SS or pensions. They just ignore it.
I don't mind saying our situation...
Current SS draw at age 67 for both of us combined is $4,516/mo
I also have a 19 year pension benefit that is currently showing $1,410/mo.
So with just that, we will have $5926/mo
Minus taxes - $5100+ a month.
And we have 401k, 403b, IRA Simple and of course well into 5 figures in cash assets, and over $280,000 in equity.
We will be fine. The idea that we need another $1,000,000 on top of this is insane. Even Ramsey, who is supposed to be honest, if I use his calculator we are in trouble.
Nonsense.

While we haven't felt the need for a number of years, one of the smartest things we did was meet with a fiduciary financial planner. We worked with a couple of great people, one in the early 2000's, the second between 2010-2015. Just our luck that both were so good they got promotions.

Part of the process was laying out a complete financial picture including incomes, savings, prospective pensions, social security, and the goals you want to meet.

WW

 

[Lisa558]

What happens if Congress decides to reduce or get rid of Social Security and Medicare?

They would phase it out only on those with the very highest of assets.

 

[Ralph Norton]

What happens if Congress decides to reduce or get rid of Social Security and Medicare?

No one is seeking to "get rid of" SS or medicare.

 

[WorldWatcher]

What happens if Congress decides to reduce or get rid of Social Security and Medicare?

#1 Retiree's are boinked.

#2 They will be looking for a new job after the next election.

WW

 

[Zincwarrior]

They would phase it out only on those with the very highest of assets.

#1 Retiree's are boinked.

#2 They will be looking for a new job after the next election.

WW

No one is seeking to "get rid of" SS or medicare.

Sure. But what if they did?

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Sure. But what if they did?

What if a magnetar suddenly appears in our solar system?

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Sure. But what if they did?

We would have to dip into our retirement savings sooner than we planned to.

 

[Lisa558]

Sure. But what if they did?

They won’t. Stop with the scare tactics in order to win votes.

 

[Zincwarrior]

What if a magnetar suddenly appears in our solar system?

Steal the technology and conquer the rest of the universe.
Whats Rand Paul's position on Social Security?

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Whats Rand Paul's position on Social Security?

who cares?

 

[Zincwarrior]

who cares?

Rand Paul is a Republican Senator.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Rand Paul is a Republican Senator.

Yes he is. He is one of 100 Senators. How much power does he have?

 

[WorldWatcher]

Sure. But what if they did?

Personally?

I have 3 revenue streams in retirement. A reduction in SS security of 25% reduces my retirement gross by about 10%. The total elimination of SS means a reduction in gross of about 35%. Same thing for my wife.

We wouldn't be eating dogfood, but any extra's we had planned for retirement would be eliminated. 25% cut and income reduction of 10% means taking a scalpel to the budget. Total elimination and a 35% reduction in gross means going at the budget with a meat cleaver instead.

And that is only because my wife and I are very blessed and have other income. Many seniors do not.

WW