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Using the Social Security Quick Calculator we put in $51,292 to discover Johns benefit at age 66, assuming he was born January, 1949 which would make him 66 this month, we discover his estimated monthly benefit amount, beginning at age 66 in 2015, is $1,372.00.
Come to find out that calculator is way, way off.
Much closer numbers with this social security calculator which I checked for accuracy by putting my numbers into and compared. It's pretty close.
I put in a wage worker that earned a constant $20/hour or $41,600/year since 1966.
Adjusted for inflation he was earning $2.74/hr in 1966, $6.98 in 1980, $14.58 in 2000 and $20.00 in 2014.
$20.00/hour isn't a great wage for a lifetime but lots of people live on it.
Putting in $20/hour (2,080 hours per year) and John ends up with a social security benefit of $1,686 at age 66.
If John works until age 70 and then collects he will receive $2,124 in monthly benefits.
Johns spouse, assuming she collects 50% of his full retirement age social security, will receive $843 for a combined total of $2,967 monthly which is equivalent to $35,604 annually.
If waiting until age 70 John will see a cut of $5,996 from his annual earnings BUT when John earned $41,600 he had a minimum of 7.65% taken for social security and medicare taxes alone.
That is $3,182 that John will not have to pay out of his social security. The actual cut John will see is $2,814 annually or $234.50/month.
Then add a little federal and state tax, perhaps local tax in some areas, and once you remove John's expense for working he will most likely be better off under social security alone than when he worked. It is equivalent to a take home paycheck of $734 weekly.
As far as our friend earning the average hourly wage of $24.66 his entire lifetime, adjusted for inflation which means he earned $4.24/hr in 1971, $13.64 in 1990 and $22.76 in 2010 his estimated social security benefit would be $1,956 at full retirement age of 66. His spouse would receive at least $978 for a combined benefit of $2,934 tax free every month.
If our friend waited to age 70 his benefit would grow to $2,661 which would give him and his wife a combined benefit of $3,639 tax free dollars every month.
Without debt and a house paid for they should be able to live comfortably most anywhere in the country.
The whole problem isn't that social security isn't enough but people are opting to take early reflected in the average combined retired couple benefit of just over $2,100 when it should be closer to $3,000 for an average couple.
Yeah, if all you have is $1,200 coming in from social security alone you better have half a million saved because you are going to need it.
One doesn't need a million bucks just to retire. That rhetoric is starting to get old. Just make sure you've paid off all of your big bills, and you can make it on a modest income.
Wanting to die because you're not loaded is pathetic.
That's right. One needs not $1 million, but well over $ 1 million to retire.
Really...You guys need to stop. It's not convincing.
Oh come on now, you know this is the only thread I have ever agreed with you on and you well know it isn't a conservative issue. We agree 100% on this and nobody is more of a conservative than me.
I know, sometimes hell does freeze over.
Most couples can retire very comfortably on $3,500 to $4,500 monthly and don't need anything more.
Of course you got the snooters who live in New York High Rises and Georgia Beach Condo's with $2,000/mo HOA fees who say you got to have more but that's 5%.
$4,000/month is $48,000 per year and if it is social security ALL of it is exempt from federal income taxes and most states exempt it from state income taxes. To take home $48,000 annually you would have to have a job earning $60,000 minimum which is nearly $10,000 more than the average salary paid in the United States.
I agree with the posters who say that retire comfortably and simply having enough money to retire are two different things.
Say Your Social Security benefits based on the assumption that you will have worked at least 35 years and will start collecting benefits at age 67. For most people who are working today, that's considered full retirement age. If you plan on retiring after age 67, then we assumed the benefits are invested (along with your savings) and grown at the same average rate of return of 6%.
I started paying tax ever since I was 21, so I will collect full social security benefits. I plan on retire around 67, So 38 more years.
In order to maintain my current life style, I perhaps need 85% of how much I earn today. With trust fund, life saving, I am not so worried.
This thread is more about average middle class.
According to this article
" Middle-class people in the USA have a median of $20,000 saved for retirement, far short of the $250,000 they think they'll need during that time of their lives, a new survey shows."
""The main message here is people are putting off saving, and they are losing the benefit of long-term compounded earnings," says Joe Ready, director of institutional retirement for Wells Fargo. "Kicking the empty can down the road is going to be detrimental to their retirement security. It's really a problem."
Oh come on now, you know this is the only thread I have ever agreed with you on and you well know it isn't a conservative issue. We agree 100% on this and nobody is more of a conservative than me.
I know, sometimes hell does freeze over.
Most couples can retire very comfortably on $3,500 to $4,500 monthly and don't need anything more.
Of course you got the snooters who live in New York High Rises and Georgia Beach Condo's with $2,000/mo HOA fees who say you got to have more but that's 5%.
$4,000/month is $48,000 per year and if it is social security ALL of it is exempt from federal income taxes and most states exempt it from state income taxes. To take home $48,000 annually you would have to have a job earning $60,000 minimum which is nearly $10,000 more than the average salary paid in the United States.
That particular poster knows what I'm talking about. It's got nothing to do with you..believe me.
Him saying that you'll need much more than a million is his way of saying that he has millions.
That's what I mean by "trying too hard."
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