How do people without millions manage to retire? (moving, community, retirees)
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The last numbers I saw from the last census said 70th percentile household net worth for age 65 is $350K. That includes home equity. The stock market and housing market are up since 2010 so I imagine it's a bit better than that now. I suspect $200K to $300K in net worth as a retiree is probably around 60th to 65th percentile and most of that is home equity.
Are you confusing net worth with "money saved". The OP said that the money saved was $200.000 to $300,000 at retirement. But the truth is closer to $25,000 SAVED for retirement.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by golfingduo
and what do we call a decent salary? are we talking GS wages or WG wages? If we are going to go on what federal pensions are based on we need to know what the average pay is. I made GS 9 step 10. I put 36 years to that pension. My annual salary was 69k per year. My pension is 2k per month before I pay 10% for my wife's annuity and 350 per month for health insurance. That provides me a grand total of 1500 per month. Where does the millions come from? I expect that I will collect on it for about 20 to 25 years. My wife will collect an additional 5 to 8 years. I still do not see the millions that I am supposedly getting.
Both salaries and retirement incomes depend on where you are. Your 69k is great in many areas, good in others, but would be difficult to live on here. In our city the median household income is $142,000, in Seattle it's $80k now. I cannot afford to stay here after retirement because of the high property tax, but with both pensions and SS we will be at about $5,500/month, and have enough equity to pay cash for a home in a less expensive area.
Are you confusing net worth with "money saved". The OP said that the money saved was $200.000 to $300,000 at retirement. But the truth is closer to $25,000 SAVED for retirement.
I clearly wrote "household net worth" and clearly wrote that for most at the 70th percentile, that household net worth is predominantly tied up in home equity. I fail to understand the need to be an insulting keyboard bully. Wealth is wealth. It doesn't matter whether it's home equity, Apple Computer stock, or gold bars under your mattress. They're all assets that can be liquidated. Retired people with little savings sell their home every day. "SAVED for retirement" is a useless concept. It's net worth that matters.
Both salaries and retirement incomes depend on where you are. Your 69k is great in many areas, good in others, but would be difficult to live on here. In our city the median household income is $142,000, in Seattle it's $80k now. I cannot afford to stay here after retirement because of the high property tax, but with both pensions and SS we will be at about $5,500/month, and have enough equity to pay cash for a home in a less expensive area.
Yep. Most people in high COL places face the exact same retirement math. Just the property taxes on what was once a modest home in a high COL place force you to sell once you retire. California doesn't work that way but that's what pretty much everybody faces in high COL places like metro-NYC, metro-Boston, and metro-DC. You need to be in a house with $5K/year ownership costs, not $25K/year ownership costs. I know lots of people in the NYC tri-state region with $15K to $20K property tax bills on middle class homes. I don't know any of them who plan to keep their home when they retire.
In California, assume you stay in the same house for years, your property tax should not be a surprise thanks to Prop 13. Even if you move to a new house after 55, you old property tax will carry through, provided that your new house will cost more than the cost of the old house. Thanks to prop 60.
Because one can live in retirement with as little as $30,000 per year or even quite a bit less. One does not need millions at all.
Many people live on their monthly social security check plus some savings that they accumulated while working.
And people on Medicare often buy supplemental health insurance at a low cost to cover medical costs not covered by Medicare. (my supplemental health insurance is $74 per month)
Actually I think if you make under $20k you wont' pay any taxes which is probably equal to making $30k except you don't have to work as much
Only about 20% work long enough to qualify for their full pension. With pension reform increasing the vesting period many leave without qualifying for any pension
Which gives public sector employees ample incentive to continue to be public sector employees for their entire careers. Of course, state and local pension plans vary.
Here in Nevada, most retirees with 30-plus years of service receive a pension that EXCEEDS their final retirement base pay. Of course, this does not make them wealthy by any means, but it does afford them a level of financial security that is quite generous by every metric.
The analysis, written by NPRI executive vice president Victor Joecks and transparency manager Robert Fellner, finds that public employees in Nevada often receive a pension larger than their final base pay. Using new data uploaded on Thursday to TransparentNevada.com, the researchers compared the full-year equivalent 2013 retirement payouts of 2011-2013 full-career retirees in 10 of Nevada’s largest government agencies with their final-year base pay.
In the seven municipal governments analyzed, Clark County, Washoe County, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Las Vegas Metro, Henderson, Reno, retirees with 30-plus years of service credit average pensions worth more than their final year of base pay — 100.59 percent of their base pay. Clark and Washoe County School District retirees receive over 89 percent of their final year’s base pay as retirement, while State of Nevada retirees receive pensions equal to 83.71 percent of their final year base pay.
Police and fire retirees receive the highest pensions, receiving 114 percent of their base pay.
What you are really asking is whether it is really possible that you will have little to no inheritance considering that your parents have multiple millions of dollars? The answer to that question is yes. This is why people are telling you NOT to count on an inheritance.
Thank you.
Clearly, IMO, this is a young person asking about a life issue they can't relate to at this time, and have no knowledge about.
He or she is young(ish) -- say under 40 -- and doesn't know how insurance works, what IS, or what isn't coverage by certain insurances or programs. Why would they know, yet? They haven't live much life. And certainly don't have any retirement considerations yet.
OP, I hope you've found some of these posts informative and educational.
Sometimes I marvel at how a thread gets off into the weeds….
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