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This is a great thread. We don't have the Million dollar reserve that seems to be the requirement to have a decent life after age 65.
Nice to know that.
A lot of us never had and don't have now that amount in reserve but everyone's circumstances are different. Social Security and pensions count. One may not need a large reserve to have a comfortable retirement. In our cases, we'll have received the "Magic ($1) Million" in retirement benefits in another half dozen years.
Then there are a number of individuals like several I work with that have boat loads of money because their entire lives were their careers, they never cultivated outside interests, have few close friends and family, and retirement for them is very frightening because they know no amount of wealth can replace their career centered lives.
That is so true. I used to live and work in a retirement/resort community on a very large lake. People who vacationed there for 2 weeks every year dreamed of retiring 'to the lake' so they could fish and play gold every day and 'have a ball'. So when they retired from their 'big City jobs' they bought a lake home and started living the dream. Within 6 months they were bored to tears and either took up serious alcohol consumption or took a job at Wal-Mart or Lowes to keep from going crazy OR sold the lake house and moved back to the big City
That will always be the case when you are well compensated for a job you enjoy. All you often really want are more vacations that are longer. I can easily see that, and know many people like that.
My grandmother spent a year in a retirement community apartment complex - her total rent was ~$1200 and that included her 1-bedroom apartment, a 7-day-a-week, two-meals-a-day meal plan in the dining room, a medical assist bracelet, cable TV, washer/dryer in her unit, all utilities, and all community field trips. She paid an additional $25/month for basic landline phone service with long distance.
The complex had the aforementioned dining room, a library, a pool, a beauty salon, a games room, conference rooms, as well as 24-hour receptionist in the front lobby of each building. Each floor of the apartment complex had a small gym, and they also had an office where a doctor and physical therapist kept hours a few days a week. Lastly they also held non-denominational church services in the main sitting area each Sunday morning.
I won't go into what we live on, because I've done that in previous posts, but I do want to discuss what my in-laws lived on because they carved out a nice retirement for themselves on less than $100K invested, SS, and my MIL's $1200 month teacher's pension. Their total monthly income was about $3600, a little more when their investments did well. They lived in a nice little 55+ retirement golf community in Palm Desert (renting at about $1200/month), they had one car (paid off), and no debts. MIL had a retirement medical plan through the school district, so that was a big help.
Today, FIL is no longer with us, and MIL is in assisted living, self-pay @$2850/month. She still gets $1200/month SS, $1200/month pension, and $36K in savings. We carefully tend her savings, and with her entry into AL, she became eligible for VA Aide and Attendance of $1150/month. So she now makes about the same as she did before FIL passed away. We handle all her needs beyond the AL facility, and all her paperwork because she has memory issues.
My own mom passed away 15 years ago at age 65 but she had a monthly income of $650/month. That consisted of SS disability and SSI. She lived in a section 8 independent living facility (one room apartment) where she paid about 30% of her income as rent and that included at least dinner everyday. She had no bills to pay other than phone bill and gas for her car, minimum insurance on that car, and extra food for breakfast and lunch. She had Medicaid and she paid nothing for anything, not even her meds (she was on 14 at one time). She was also eligible for in-home support services (IHSS) and they paid for her to have an aide who came by to do her cleaning, laundry, occasional shopping, and help prep meals for lunches. I drove her to every appointment after we took her car away (unreliable car, and poor driving) and took her grocery shopping weekly, as well as some recreational outings. My brother took her to his home overnight at least twice a month for an outing and for family time. Hard to believe, but she was getting by on $650/month with zero savings. I wouldn't want to do it. This is partly why I gave up several opportunities in my career to stay with my employer for 24 years, knowing that my pension would be the most important thing in my future.
she was getting by on $650/month with zero savings.
...plus, as you rightly point out, all the government social safety net help she got.
As a tail-end baby boomer....I certainly wonder how the political and social debates regarding the future of the basic social safety net will turn out....MORE services and support...or LESS?
I won't go into what we live on, because I've done that in previous posts, but I do want to discuss what my in-laws lived on because they carved out a nice retirement for themselves on less than $100K invested, SS, and my MIL's $1200 month teacher's pension. Their total monthly income was about $3600, a little more when their investments did well.
Their retirement income was twice the average household income in our little town. I guess they certainly did 'carve out a nice retirement for themselves'.
I started the thread because I'm so tired of hearing...you need at least a million dollars to retire, and people not questioning that ...You are all proof it can be done on a lot less....
i live very simply. i have never earned over $42,000 a year, and I was very late getting into the work force (over age 40, stay at home mom prior to that). Less than ten years ago i had less than $500, and a 10-year old vehicle that died the following year. i live a very simple life and I like it that way. I tithe 20% of my income in tzedakah. I live in a small rented apt. i save and travel overseas every few years. i will only live in areas with a very low price to rent apartments. my entertainment is making art and reading books and savoring the beauty of nature.
My dad died 15 years ago - and his pension was cut in half - so mom was living on $20K a year including social security. She was a SAHM and never worked outside the home.
But their home was paid for and they had no debt. So when she needed assisted living - everything was liquidated - and it paid for the 9 years including nursing home care she received.
Her nursing home bills the last years of her life were near $10K a month.
But she still left enough to be distributed to her 7 children. More than she ever knew.
She had great angst that her nursing home would eat up all her children's inheritance - but it didn't.
So it can be done. But having assets to liquidate when you need nursing care is key.
It's why 17 years ago I got on the stick and started shoveling money into retirement. We might make the 1 million mark - plus I have a government pension and my spouse will have SS. We've been able to live on just about nothing.
It'll freak us out if we're making more in retirement than pre-retirement. We won't know what to do.
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Where is this place?
