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For this year the top SS benefit is 31,956 a year, with the average $15,444 per year. I know parts of Kentucky and the South in general are inexpensive but is living on $16k per year possible?
The (rather few) people receiving the maximum monthly SS benefit do so because they have had much higher than average lifetime earnings. The resources of these people are such that they are not going to NEED to live in Kentucky. One or two might CHOOSE to do so for other reasons, but finances are not going to force any of them into it.
A percentage of income is not very defined. If you defined it as "assuming a 4% withdrawal rate from savings" then it would be more apples to apples. If one has a million bucks saved, and everything is paid for, but lives entirely off of SS and a small pension, his numbers look to be more dependent on SS income than someone with a lot of debt and a mortgage and withdraws much more from savings to make their "income" number. So did you mean "as a percentage of guaranteed income" or your "current income needed to cover what you spend"? Wildy different answers.
In practical terms it is impossible to create a poll using the City-Data software complex enough to factor in everything you are talking about. It is certainly true that the poll answers do not reflect peoples' total financial picture. I had in mind "assuming whatever withdrawal rate one is using at the present time". In other words, income means income, whether one has the ability to increase that income at will in the future or not. The unstated but logical assumption is that the poll is asking about cash flow, not assets.
A person with assets, whether those be equity in a house, a 401(k) balance, other investments or a combination, obviously has more choices for the future than a person whose present income is fixed without reasonable prospect of ever increasing it.
Reading these posts immediately what came to mind is there may be unclaimed funds, including pensions, life insurance policies, etc. You folks might want to do some extensive research into some of the web sites that have this information, including the tedious government sites. Just for fun, I did some research and actually located a pension for someone !
When I file for SS, my pension will be reduced by that amount. The last time I looked, SS will be roughly 50% of my gross income at that point.
Submariner, this the 2nd time I've seen you write this. If I understand your retirement situation correctly, you are receiving military retirement and some rental income. There is no SS offset when receiving military retirement. Since you paid into SS the entire time you were on active duty (and drilling holes in the water), you are entitled to full SS benefits and military retirement. I'm in the same boat (no pun intended, yes, I drilled holes in the water, too) as you and I receive military retirement and SS (with no offset).
Please, vote in the poll only if you have already applied to receive Social Security retirement benefits. Comments welcome by all, of course.
My idea behind the poll is the lamentation in another thread about the probable lack of SS COLA this year. I figure those who rely on SS for a large part of their retirement income are those who are most concerned about the SS COLA. Those of us with very small SS benefits (i.e., a very low percentage of retirement income from SS) do not care about the SS COLA.
My SS is about 30% of my income. The rest is from my job. No 401k, etc.. I don't really care about the SS COLA except that when we get it I do get, maybe, $15 mo. more. I'm still paying into SS via my job and from that I also get a tad of a 'bonus' every year.
Submariner, this the 2nd time I've seen you write this. If I understand your retirement situation correctly, you are receiving military retirement and some rental income. There is no SS offset when receiving military retirement. Since you paid into SS the entire time you were on active duty (and drilling holes in the water), you are entitled to full SS benefits and military retirement. I'm in the same boat (no pun intended, yes, I drilled holes in the water, too) as you and I receive military retirement and SS (with no offset).
Yes I paid into SS all of my working career, I will receive full SS benefit.
When I went through TAPP, I was told that my Navy check would be reduced, when my SS started.
We sold all of our rental units, and used the cash for purchasing our retirement homestead. We no longer have any rental income.
Your post makes a few assumptions with one being these persons are getting near or the max monthly SS benefit.
For this year the top SS benefit is 31,956 a year, with the average $15,444 per year. I know parts of Kentucky and the South in general are inexpensive but is living on $16k per year possible?
Living on $16K probably requires owning a house without a mortgage, having no debts, having a good Medicare Advantage plan that doesn't cost you a lot of out-of-pocket expenses, and having a reliable car that's not likely to need any repairs anytime soon, or living where you don't need a car, such as across the street from a shopping center with a supermarket, and on a bus line.
If you have all that, what are you going to spend the $16K on? Groceries? Lots of people spend less than $500 per month on groceries, sometimes as low as $200 per month, so let's assume $300 if you're moderately frugal. If you drive 25 miles per week, your car expenses are around $600 per year, including insurance, unless you have a car that malfunctions a lot, and no ability to fix it yourself. You have to pay taxes on your house, but, in most of Kentucky, taxes on a $50,000 house are around $150 per year, if you take advantage of the senior citizen homestead exemption. You have to pay car registration and taxes, but those are usually around $50 per year, unless you have a near new or expensive car. You have to pay utilities, about $100 per month. Your internet connection might be $50 per month. What else is there? Add all those up, per year: $3600 groceries, $600 car, $150+50 taxes, $1200 utilities, $600 internet, add those up, total $6200, leaving $9800 of your $16,000, as margin for error, plus savings for your old age. If you save the $9800 from age 67 to age 87, 20 years, that's $196,000 for your old age, when you become senile and start spending like there's no tomorrow.
If we round off to $48,000 it means $4,000 per month netand if that is not enough to live comfortably, then the couple are either big spenders or they live in NYC or DC or Boston or San Francisco.
Actually, this $4,000 would be gross not net. The maximum amount a couple could receive and not be federally taxed is $32,000 ($25,000 for a single). Some states also tax SS. Also, there would be Medicare premiums to pay. The net might be closer to $3,300 or $3,400 a month. Still doable, however. I know a federal retiree living on this amount and she still has a mortgage! (And the state she lives in, WV, taxes SS benefits.)
Actually, this $4,000 would be gross not net. The maximum amount a couple could receive and not be federally taxed is $32,000 ($25,000 for a single). Some states also tax SS. Also, there would be Medicare premiums to pay. The net might be closer to $3,300 or $3,400 a month. Still doable, however. I know a federal retiree living on this amount and she still has a mortgage! (And the state she lives in, WV, taxes SS benefits.)
Actually, the amount over 32k would be taxable. With no other income, that 16k of taxable SS benefits is in the 0% tax bracket, because of the standard deduction and personal exemptions.
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) as you and I receive military retirement and SS (with no offset).
