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That's like the equivalent of a $50k job in a lot of states. If two people have that much coming in, that's quite a bit of money. Someone debt-free should be able to live off $3k net/month in most areas.
I agree, but I would add two words to your final sentence: Someone debt-free should be able to live quite well off $3k net/month in most areas.
AlaskaErik, the $1000 per month from 10 years as a public school teacher is in addition to the social security monthly income he receives from his other working years.
So if he receives $1300 from social security per month and this $1000 pension that's $2300 per month which is highly livable for most people, and a windfall for those living on much less in retirement.
To me, $2300 income per month in retirement is a large amount and very livable, and many other people would concur.
(though maybe not up to your standards)
$2300 a month is an unlivable income. It borders on abject poverty. It's not about standards, it's about quality of life.
$2300 a month is an unlivable income. It borders on abject poverty. It's not about standards, it's about quality of life.
If I remember right you plan on retiring on an income of 10k per month. I think your number is almost unrealistic but okay if you can get it, great. Some of us live in different circumstances and have all of our lives. Maybe things in oil rich Alaska are different but in the lower 48 there are places you can live on 2k per month like you do with 10k. Same standards minus the caviar and champagne. Still please don't knock people for making less than you.
AlaskaErik, the $1000 per month from 10 years as a public school teacher is in addition to the social security monthly income he receives from his other working years.
So if he receives $1300 from social security per month and this $1000 pension that's $2300 per month which is highly livable for most people, and a windfall for those living on much less in retirement.
To me, $2300 income per month in retirement is a large amount and very livable, and many other people would concur.
(though maybe not up to your standards)
Maybe you should have considered what a public employee pension would mean to your future retirement back years ago. That's what I did. That's what two of my brothers (one a corrections officer, one a state police officer) did.
The reason that many younger workers don't is because in general, public employee salaries for professionals aren't competitive with private sector salaries. That's the trade-off, which I noted before, and which you continue to ignore. Low rank public employees doing unskilled/semi-skilled tasks are generally better paid than those same types of workers in the private sector but the fact is that they are largely an endangered species in public employment as governments either automate or contract for those low-end staffing. For health care professionals, for anybody in IT, for engineers or lawyers or even for admin assistants, they're seriously underpaid for their education, experience, and responsibility. One of the trends in public employment in the last few decades has been for some private sector professionals to enter public service in mid/late career in order to secure some kind of pension. Of course, like me, that means they have to work until they're older in order to secure that decent pension.
For workers in the essential services sector of public employment, many put their lives on the line every single shift they work. Others deal with stuff you don't want to even know about much less deal with. In emergencies, they're expected to show up not evacuate or stay safe and snug at home, and they are expected to stay on duty for the duration. They trade their safety and comfort for future pension benefits.
You could have chosen a career in public service, but you didn't. That was your choice.
If I remember right you plan on retiring on an income of 10k per month. I think your number is almost unrealistic but okay if you can get it, great. Some of us live in different circumstances and have all of our lives. Maybe things in oil rich Alaska are different but in the lower 48 there are places you can live on 2k per month like you do with 10k. Same standards minus the caviar and champagne. Still please don't knock people for making less than you.
I'm not knocking anyone who lives on 2k a month. I just think it's an unlivable income. Maybe some people can do it. I know we couldn't. And we retired to Arizona, where we found that it was just as expensive as living in Alaska. Only now we lost important benefits of living in Alaska and we now had to pay income taxes in AZ that we didn't have to in Alaska. Add in the punitive sales tax and it's probably more expensive. So there was no real lower COL. In the end, we moved back to Alaska and kept the AZ house as a winter getaway.
I'm not knocking anyone who lives on 2k a month. I just think it's an unlivable income. Maybe some people can do it. I know we couldn't. And we retired to Arizona, where we found that it was just as expensive as living in Alaska. Only now we lost important benefits of living in Alaska and we now had to pay income taxes in AZ that we didn't have to in Alaska. Add in the punitive sales tax and it's probably more expensive. So there was no real lower COL. In the end, we moved back to Alaska and kept the AZ house as a winter getaway.
The people living off of $2k-$3k per month are likely not the types to be owning winter getaways. It might be unlivable for you, but your situation looks above normal.
$2300 a month is an unlivable income. It borders on abject poverty. It's not about standards, it's about quality of life.
The federal poverty level for an individual for 2015 is 11770 and for a two person household, it's 15,930. For some people, 2300 a month would allow them to live more comfortably than they do now. But of course it's gong to depend on the cost of living which varies wildly by location.
The federal poverty level for an individual for 2015 is 11770 and for a two person household, it's 15,930. For some people, 2300 a month would allow them to live more comfortably than they do now. But of course it's gong to depend on the cost of living which varies wildly by location.
Not only the cost of living, it's about what it takes to make a person enjoy life. A lot of people (me included) are having, IMHO, a pretty darned good life on less than the $2300/month.
I may wish at times I could drive a Jaguar, my Toyota does just fine. Point A to point B. Good enough.
$2300 a month is an unlivable income. It borders on abject poverty. It's not about standards, it's about quality of life.
Gee, should I just kill myself now?
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