In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
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In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
I'm wondering how many Bogleheads are near or in retirement with only six figures in savings.
If so, how conservative or aggressive are you? Why? (this is the actionable part of the post).
If so, how conservative or aggressive are you? Why? (this is the actionable part of the post).
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Depends on what the six figures are.
Depends on other income streams.
Depends on required income in retirement.
Depends,
Depends,
Depends.
2b2
Depends on other income streams.
Depends on required income in retirement.
Depends,
Depends,
Depends.
2b2
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
If you have six figures and near retirement, what else can you do? What you have when you retire is what you have. Is the near retirement age enough time to make a difference until retirement? Is that difference significant?
Otherwise it is what it is.
I retired with 6 figures in 2015. Now over 7 figures.
Conservative or aggressive? I am at 70/30. That’s what I have more or less been all along.
Otherwise it is what it is.
I retired with 6 figures in 2015. Now over 7 figures.
Conservative or aggressive? I am at 70/30. That’s what I have more or less been all along.
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Not me, but lots of Americans do it. If you have a modest lifestyle, a paid off mortgage, maybe a pension, and delay retirement until Full Retirement Age then it seems doable. Under those circumstances, it's not clear that your asset allocation would be any different than someone with seven figures.
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
100,000 or 999,999 ???
Income stream ??
Pension??
SS ??
Debt??
Assets?
Age ??
Single vs. . . ??
Lot's of moving parts with a wide range of actionable financial strategies unique per person.
Would help to edit original post to make it more specific, perhaps as it applies to you?
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
My parents and in-laws (both early 60's) have a combined $0 in retirement, both having health issues which may force them into retirement. There are a lot people who have nothing but SS and many of them will be fine (I think my parents will be, my in-laws are a different story).
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Depends on expenses, spending. $100,000 or $999,999.
$1 saved = >$1 earned. ✓
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
My father will retire at 62. My mother has been a stay at home spouse for decades.
They will have approximately $400,000 to bridge them to 70 where they would take maxed out SS and spousal 1/2 SS.
Paid off house in LCOL as well as brand new automobile paid off. $36,000/year in expenses is luxurious for them, likely will be less.
It's all about expectations and how you've lived prior to retirement. They also have $250,000 in home equity that they could use to downsize or use for end of life care.
It's probably not good enough for the Boglehead that wants a 99.9% chance of success after two black swans and 10 years of dementia care in the most exclusive nursing home in the Bay Area, but it's enough for them.
They will have approximately $400,000 to bridge them to 70 where they would take maxed out SS and spousal 1/2 SS.
Paid off house in LCOL as well as brand new automobile paid off. $36,000/year in expenses is luxurious for them, likely will be less.
It's all about expectations and how you've lived prior to retirement. They also have $250,000 in home equity that they could use to downsize or use for end of life care.
It's probably not good enough for the Boglehead that wants a 99.9% chance of success after two black swans and 10 years of dementia care in the most exclusive nursing home in the Bay Area, but it's enough for them.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
I retired for almost 7 years now with a 6 figure portfolio. In California, no pension, just SS for the wife and I. The house is paid off, no car payments, we don't carry debt and we are invested conservatively in a lifestrategy fund 40/60. We have never lived so well.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
A general answer to your question is that asset allocation does not have a large effect on how well you can fund expenses once in retirement. The risks of high stock allocations while withdrawing money offset the gains from higher returns.
The important things are what are the other sources of income and being happy with what you can have. That part is the same at all levels of wealth.
The important things are what are the other sources of income and being happy with what you can have. That part is the same at all levels of wealth.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Lots of people "only" have a six figure portfolio when they retire so it is possible to do just fine.
"Six figure" is pretty vague but if you are talking mid six figures, a paid off house, and Social Security there are a lot of ways to make it work especially if you do not live in a high cost of living area.
This post is four years old but here is my "Can I retire?" thread where I outlined my situation.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=167664
I did retire and the finances are doing well but I have to admit that part of that is luck since the "sequence of returns risk" has worked out in my favor since my investments have done will over the last four years.
I have some money invested very conservatively to pay for expenses for the next few years until I get on Medicare and Social Security.
The rest I just have invested in a Target Date 2015 fund since I retired in 2015.
At least for me having a paid off house seems to be a key factor. With a paid off house it does not have to cost all that much to keep food on the table and a roof over our head.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
I retired early (age 62) with a high six-figure portfolio.
The question is not really how much money you have but your expenses. Our LCOL area will allow us to completely meet all our regular expenses from Social Security at age 70, so we need enough to cover expenses to age 70 and then a buffer to meet irregular expenses after age 70.
I was aggressive during my work years, went conservative (45/55) at retirement and my allocation is rising as I spend cash/bonds on living expenses. I expect to end up about 60/40 at age 70.
[p.s.] There are quite a few moderate income folks here, you just don’t hear from them because they don’t do humble-brag threads: “I only have 10 million, can I afford to retire?”. Check out this thread: viewtopic.php?t=215469
The question is not really how much money you have but your expenses. Our LCOL area will allow us to completely meet all our regular expenses from Social Security at age 70, so we need enough to cover expenses to age 70 and then a buffer to meet irregular expenses after age 70.
I was aggressive during my work years, went conservative (45/55) at retirement and my allocation is rising as I spend cash/bonds on living expenses. I expect to end up about 60/40 at age 70.
[p.s.] There are quite a few moderate income folks here, you just don’t hear from them because they don’t do humble-brag threads: “I only have 10 million, can I afford to retire?”. Check out this thread: viewtopic.php?t=215469
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Very true some folks on this forum have a 5k a month pension. If I had that today I could retire without owning anything. I would have no need to save money.
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
A $5,000 a month pension is approximately equal to 1.5 million in a IRA. A lot of us do not have pensions so you need to take that into account.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
How do you calculate that?Twinsfan10 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:21 am A $5,000 a month pension is approximately equal to 1.5 million in a IRA. A lot of us do not have pensions so you need to take that into account.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Multiply by 25 and use the 4% withdrawal rule.retire57 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:43 amHow do you calculate that?Twinsfan10 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:21 am A $5,000 a month pension is approximately equal to 1.5 million in a IRA. A lot of us do not have pensions so you need to take that into account.
Last edited by Nicolas on Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
60,000 dollar a year pension is approximately equal to 1.5 million IRA with 4% withdraw rate. 4% is what you can probably withdraw per year for 30 years and not run out of money. So if you have a 60,000 per year pension you could add 1.5 million dollars as a phantom entry into your net worth.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
That's me. Well, actually going to retire with low seven figures but probability of that dropping to six figures after the next crash. The key is my net funding needs (beyond pension and social security) till I die are estimated to also be in the six figures.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
=FV(0.5%/12, 25*12 ,$5000, 0, 0)retire57 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:43 amHow do you calculate that?Twinsfan10 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:21 am A $5,000 a month pension is approximately equal to 1.5 million in a IRA. A lot of us do not have pensions so you need to take that into account.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Or use immediateannuities.com or similar to get a quote on an SPIA, which is more comparable as you're basically "buying a pension" with an SPIA. The 4% "safe" withdrawal rate is designed not to deplete the portfolio. Generally if you plug in a retirement age of 65 or so and the portfolio size, you'll get a much larger monthly payout from an SPIA than if you use 4%.Nicolas wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:53 amMultiply by 25 and use the 4% withdrawal rule.retire57 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:43 amHow do you calculate that?Twinsfan10 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:21 am A $5,000 a month pension is approximately equal to 1.5 million in a IRA. A lot of us do not have pensions so you need to take that into account.
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
My opinion, from observing my parents is that if you have total assets (including home, retirement assets, etc.) of around $400K or above and social security (and other pensions) annually of $30K or so per year, you can have a comfortable live style in retirement even in a HCOL (say metro DC or even Seattle) area. The key is that you need to be able to live independently or somewhat independently with help from family/friends. All bets are off if your health deteriorates and one or both need to move into a nursing home. That is what will kill your nest egg.
For my parents, my sister and I are the back stops if this scenario arises.
For my parents, my sister and I are the back stops if this scenario arises.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Excellent! Thanks!Twinsfan10 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:57 am 60,000 dollar a year pension is approximately equal to 1.5 million IRA with 4% withdraw rate. 4% is what you can probably withdraw per year for 30 years and not run out of money. So if you have a 60,000 per year pension you could add 1.5 million dollars as a phantom entry into your net worth.
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
My in-laws had 129,000 saved at retirement. No debt. State pension and SS combined about 4,000/month. They are very frugal and live in a VLCOL area. Their life style is unchanged since retirement. They had sold out right at the bottom of the GFC and put everything into a stable value fund for the next 10 years. Kinda sad really. I helped them to manage the limited resources at retirement and opened a rollover IRA at Fidelity. 35% TSM and 65% intermediate treasury bond fund. They started at 129,000 a year ago, spent 11,000 and have 134,000 currently. The 11,000 was to purchase a vehicle. Their monthly expenses are met by SS/Pension. The IRA is for big expenses and fun money only.
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
For myself, I am way, way beyond "six figures". I am 100% invested in either VFIAX or VTSAX - for my beneficiaries.
This is generational wealth transfer.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Bragging?Trader Joe wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:13 pmFor myself, I am way, way beyond "six figures". I am 100% invested in either VFIAX or VTSAX - for my beneficiaries.
This is generational wealth transfer.
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
I think for me it depends on the status of social security in terms of having a low to mid six figure retirement in today’s dollars. My retirement projection is that for my full retirement age will be probably around 70. Plug in numbers then revisit every year to see where you are on that path.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
I retired a few months before turning 57, so no soc sec for me for a while.
My retirement savings was a little under $900K. (a little under $800K if you exclude the Roth IRA which I plan to use as Long Term Care waiting period and truck replacement, not technically retirement savings)
As others have said, a lot depends on expenses (mine are relatively high even though my house is paid off. I still have property taxes of over $5K in 2015. I also have horses.) and other sources of income. I received severance pay. I get a relatively small pension payment each month. In addition, beginning at age 60, I have been receiving survivor benefits from my ex-husband's soc sec (less than 1/4 of what I will receive on my own soc sec when I turn 70).
How conservative or aggressive am I? I think moderately aggressive. I have a pretty high threshold for market volatility. I keep what I think I will need to withdraw from my retirement by selling equity funds for the next four years (est expenses less pension less soc sec less retirement fund dividends which go to money market less interest income) in "safer" places (some is in the IRA in money market fund, some has been withdrawn and invested in I-bonds, etc). This will allow me to go through the first 4 years of a market down cycle without having to sell funds when they are down. The only bonds I have are those that are in my Wellington fund (30% of IRA).
My retirement savings was a little under $900K. (a little under $800K if you exclude the Roth IRA which I plan to use as Long Term Care waiting period and truck replacement, not technically retirement savings)
As others have said, a lot depends on expenses (mine are relatively high even though my house is paid off. I still have property taxes of over $5K in 2015. I also have horses.) and other sources of income. I received severance pay. I get a relatively small pension payment each month. In addition, beginning at age 60, I have been receiving survivor benefits from my ex-husband's soc sec (less than 1/4 of what I will receive on my own soc sec when I turn 70).
How conservative or aggressive am I? I think moderately aggressive. I have a pretty high threshold for market volatility. I keep what I think I will need to withdraw from my retirement by selling equity funds for the next four years (est expenses less pension less soc sec less retirement fund dividends which go to money market less interest income) in "safer" places (some is in the IRA in money market fund, some has been withdrawn and invested in I-bonds, etc). This will allow me to go through the first 4 years of a market down cycle without having to sell funds when they are down. The only bonds I have are those that are in my Wellington fund (30% of IRA).
Last edited by DorothyB on Sat Dec 21, 2019 9:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Conservative or aggressive? I am at 70/30 with good cash flow. Normally 40/60 to 60/40 might be more acceptable. My wife is still working.
As mentioned earlier, your retirement expenses and sources of Retirement income are unknown to us.
As mentioned earlier, your retirement expenses and sources of Retirement income are unknown to us.
"I started with nothing and I still have most of it left."
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
In a year that you have to pay long term care costs while waiting for your LTC insurance to kick in... a lot of Bogleheads suggest paying LTC costs with a regular (not Roth) IRA as your taxes will be likely quite low due to your high medical expenses that year.DorothyB wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 9:47 pm I retired a few months before turning 57, so no soc sec for me for a while.
My retirement savings was a little under $900K. (a little under $800K if you exclude the Roth IRA which I plan to use as Long Term Care waiting period and truck replacement, not technically retirement savings)
As others have said, a lot depends on expenses (mine are relatively high even though my house is paid off. I still have property taxes of over $5K in 2015. I also have horses.) and other sources of income. I received severance pay. I get a relatively small pension payment each month. In addition, beginning at age 60, I have been receiving survivor benefits from my ex-husband's soc sec (less than 1/4 of what I will receive on my own soc sec when I turn 70).
How conservative or aggressive am I? I think moderately aggressive. I have a pretty high threshold for market volatility. I keep what I think I will need to withdraw from my retirement by selling equity funds for the next four years (est expenses less pension less soc sec less retirement fund dividends which go to money market less interest income) in "safer" places (some is in the IRA in money market fund, some has been withdrawn and invested in I-bonds, etc). This will allow me to go through the first 4 years of a market down cycle without having to sell funds when they are down. The only bonds I have are those that are in my Wellington fund (30% of IRA).
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Retired this past August at 56. Am at about 50/50.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
6 figures is a wide range. I’d be just fine if I was 65 tomorrow with a $999,999 portfolio
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
OP here. I should have added more info. I if I retire at 65 I will have social security of about $24,000 a year. My wife will have the same, plus a pension of about $35,000/year. We are a second marriage and although what's mine is hers and vice-versa, I want to make sure I bring enough to the table to share expenses equally. Our current expenses are $66,000. We expect the house to easily be paid off by the time we retire. A conservative estimate is that I will have in the range of $650,000 at retirement. If returns are anything like the past (I don't plan on them being so), my nest egg will be larger.
I was just wondering if there were others on the Bogleheads site who are in that range (less than $1 million) at or near retirement.
I was just wondering if there were others on the Bogleheads site who are in that range (less than $1 million) at or near retirement.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Of course there are. But the actual answer to your question is should you expect to be able to fund your spending. Also you have a question whether you can contribute an amount equal to your wife. So, the question is how much can you spend from your portfolio. The standard approximate rule of thumb for this kind of estimating is 4% of the initial portfolio value increased each year by inflation and good for 30 years. So 4% of $650,000 is $26,300. Because you both have income of more than half of $66,000, you can each contribute equally and save the rest to grow and give to someone else.bck63 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 10:55 am OP here. I should have added more info. I if I retire at 65 I will have social security of about $24,000 a year. My wife will have the same, plus a pension of about $35,000/year. We are a second marriage and although what's mine is hers and vice-versa, I want to make sure I bring enough to the table to share expenses equally. Our current expenses are $66,000. We expect the house to easily be paid off by the time we retire. A conservative estimate is that I will have in the range of $650,000 at retirement. If returns are anything like the past (I don't plan on them being so), my nest egg will be larger.
I was just wondering if there were others on the Bogleheads site who are in that range (less than $1 million) at or near retirement.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Thanks for the additional information. My immediate family has significantly less money and more marriages! It sounds like you have enough to meet your annual needs which is critical as well as contribute equally. I’ve never been divorced, but it’s nice to hear you say “what's mine is hers and vice-versa”. this is not a criticism of anyone who has been through a very difficult divorce.dbr wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 11:04 amOf course there are. But the actual answer to your question is should you expect to be able to fund your spending. Also you have a question whether you can contribute an amount equal to your wife. So, the question is how much can you spend from your portfolio. The standard approximate rule of thumb for this kind of estimating is 4% of the initial portfolio value increased each year by inflation and good for 30 years. So 4% of $650,000 is $26,300. Because you both have income of more than half of $66,000, you can each contribute equally and save the rest to grow and give to someone else.bck63 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 10:55 am OP here. I should have added more info. I if I retire at 65 I will have social security of about $24,000 a year. My wife will have the same, plus a pension of about $35,000/year. We are a second marriage and although what's mine is hers and vice-versa, I want to make sure I bring enough to the table to share expenses equally. Our current expenses are $66,000. We expect the house to easily be paid off by the time we retire. A conservative estimate is that I will have in the range of $650,000 at retirement. If returns are anything like the past (I don't plan on them being so), my nest egg will be larger.
I was just wondering if there were others on the Bogleheads site who are in that range (less than $1 million) at or near retirement.
"I started with nothing and I still have most of it left."
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
I’m surprised there aren’t more people in his situation. I have two retirement accounts currently at six figures each. That’s a total of twelve figures right there!bradinsky wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:22 pmBragging?Trader Joe wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:13 pmFor myself, I am way, way beyond "six figures". I am 100% invested in either VFIAX or VTSAX - for my beneficiaries.
This is generational wealth transfer.
After the new year, I plan on shifting things around to have four accounts of five figures each, bringing me up to twenty figures. I only have two children, so they’ll each stand to get ten figures. Needless to say, they’ll never have to work a day in their lives if they don’t want to.
My goal with a few more years of savings is to work up to ten accounts @ three figures each. With those 30 figures I could still leave 10 to each child, plus set up a very nice endowment with the remaining 10.
It was slow going at first, but things really took off once I also started counting the figures to the right of the decimal point.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
OP, you will have $83k income from all sources and $66k expenses or a surplus of $17k/yr. So your portfolio is primarily for discretionary, long term care, medical, or inheritance purposes. The market is not a major concern from an annual budget standpoint. You can be as aggressive as you feel comfortable without a direct impact on your quality of life if the market decreases. Think of your "nest egg" from a long term perspective over decades.bck63 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 10:55 am OP here. I should have added more info. I if I retire at 65 I will have social security of about $24,000 a year. My wife will have the same, plus a pension of about $35,000/year. We are a second marriage and although what's mine is hers and vice-versa, I want to make sure I bring enough to the table to share expenses equally. Our current expenses are $66,000. We expect the house to easily be paid off by the time we retire. A conservative estimate is that I will have in the range of $650,000 at retirement. If returns are anything like the past (I don't plan on them being so), my nest egg will be larger.
I was just wondering if there were others on the Bogleheads site who are in that range (less than $1 million) at or near retirement.
Bogleheads Wiki: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Main_Page
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
"Bragging?"bradinsky wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:22 pmBragging?Trader Joe wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:13 pmFor myself, I am way, way beyond "six figures". I am 100% invested in either VFIAX or VTSAX - for my beneficiaries.
This is generational wealth transfer.
Sounds like someone sharing a potential valuable strategy to me.
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
HA!! That was a good laugh. Thank you. And don't get greedy. 20 figures is plenty. 30 really isn't necessary.jsprag wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 11:24 amI’m surprised there aren’t more people in his situation. I have two retirement accounts currently at six figures each. That’s a total of twelve figures right there!bradinsky wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:22 pmBragging?Trader Joe wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:13 pmFor myself, I am way, way beyond "six figures". I am 100% invested in either VFIAX or VTSAX - for my beneficiaries.
This is generational wealth transfer.
After the new year, I plan on shifting things around to have four accounts of five figures each, bringing me up to twenty figures. I only have two children, so they’ll each stand to get ten figures. Needless to say, they’ll never have to work a day in their lives if they don’t want to.
My goal with a few more years of savings is to work up to ten accounts @ three figures each. With those 30 figures I could still leave 10 to each child, plus set up a very nice endowment with the remaining 10.
It was slow going at first, but things really took off once I also started counting the figures to the right of the decimal point.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
You two seem to be doing very well, so some next steps are:
1. Run Open Social Security (created by another Boglehead) together, https://opensocialsecurity.com/ , to maximize your family's best SS strategy. Check the Advanced Options box to get some interesting variations.
2. Investigate Roth conversions between retirement and Social Security.
3. Enjoy!
Ipsa scientia potestas est. Bacon F.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
This is the real key.
In most of the country, a paid-off house with low property taxes is huge.
Food and utilities just don't cost that much.
It's not that hard to live a decent life on $3000/month with a paid-off house.
Once you're old enough to get SS and Medicare, you may barely need to tap your retirement accounts at all. Pulling 4% from a $300,000 nest-egg is a nice extra $1000 a month for luxuries and fun... A thousand dollars a month, every month, just for fun, is nothing to sneeze at.
"The best tools available to us are shovels, not scalpels. Don't get carried away." - vanBogle59
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
My mother lived for 30+ years on Social Security ($12,500 annual) and a $197 mo. nurse's pension in California. She had $50,000 in savings which she never had to spend. BUT, her little house had no mortgage, she had no car, and she lived a block away from us, so we had daily contact to make sure every need was met. Her long term care needs during the last five years of her life were provided by her family. My perception is retired people can have a quality life on very little if their family has the resources and cares enough to be involved in their well-being.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Pension & health coverage was the key for my father-in-law...now retired for over 25 years.
He was a skilled blue-collar worker which got him a COLA pension & free retiree health care...he complained when he & his wife had to start paying Medicare Part B premiums, though their retiree health care morphed into a free Medigap policy.
I doubt they had more than 5 figures (plus a paid-off home) in savings when they retired.
He was a skilled blue-collar worker which got him a COLA pension & free retiree health care...he complained when he & his wife had to start paying Medicare Part B premiums, though their retiree health care morphed into a free Medigap policy.
I doubt they had more than 5 figures (plus a paid-off home) in savings when they retired.
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Couldn't have said it better.awval999 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:56 am My father will retire at 62. My mother has been a stay at home spouse for decades.
They will have approximately $400,000 to bridge them to 70 where they would take maxed out SS and spousal 1/2 SS.
Paid off house in LCOL as well as brand new automobile paid off. $36,000/year in expenses is luxurious for them, likely will be less.
It's all about expectations and how you've lived prior to retirement. They also have $250,000 in home equity that they could use to downsize or use for end of life care.
It's probably not good enough for the Boglehead that wants a 99.9% chance of success after two black swans and 10 years of dementia care in the most exclusive nursing home in the Bay Area, but it's enough for them.
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Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Post of the decade. What a decade it has been -- and you win with just 10 days left. Amazing.
jsprag wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 11:24 amI’m surprised there aren’t more people in his situation. I have two retirement accounts currently at six figures each. That’s a total of twelve figures right there!bradinsky wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:22 pmBragging?Trader Joe wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:13 pmFor myself, I am way, way beyond "six figures". I am 100% invested in either VFIAX or VTSAX - for my beneficiaries.
This is generational wealth transfer.
After the new year, I plan on shifting things around to have four accounts of five figures each, bringing me up to twenty figures. I only have two children, so they’ll each stand to get ten figures. Needless to say, they’ll never have to work a day in their lives if they don’t want to.
My goal with a few more years of savings is to work up to ten accounts @ three figures each. With those 30 figures I could still leave 10 to each child, plus set up a very nice endowment with the remaining 10.
It was slow going at first, but things really took off once I also started counting the figures to the right of the decimal point.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Virtually the same script for me.Shallowpockets wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:29 am I retired with 6 figures in 2015. Now over 7 figures.
Conservative or aggressive? I am at 70/30. That’s what I have more or less been all along.
Retired 12/31/2015
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
My condolences, you could have likely retired ten or more years ago.bradinsky wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:22 pmBragging?Trader Joe wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:13 pmFor myself, I am way, way beyond "six figures". I am 100% invested in either VFIAX or VTSAX - for my beneficiaries.
This is generational wealth transfer.
Unless you have a difficult situation like with a disabled child then paying more than to get a kid through college without any debt and getting them launched can be counterproductive.
It has been a while since I read it but in the book "The Millionaire Next Door" the author referred to this as Economic Outpatient Care.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Milli ... tient_Care
A likely outcome is that instead of you retiring early and enjoying your time is that your kids will retire early once they receive their inheritance.
Generational wealth rarely lasts more than a generation or two so you may also want to have the money tightly controlled by a trust if you want it to last a long time.
You might want to read that book.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
We were very close to where you are now upon retirement 4 years ago. The key is no mortgage (or any other debt for that matter). We are now in low 7 figure territory, withdrawing 1%, and very comfortable at 50/50 AA.bck63 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 10:55 am OP here. I should have added more info. I if I retire at 65 I will have social security of about $24,000 a year. My wife will have the same, plus a pension of about $35,000/year. We are a second marriage and although what's mine is hers and vice-versa, I want to make sure I bring enough to the table to share expenses equally. Our current expenses are $66,000. We expect the house to easily be paid off by the time we retire. A conservative estimate is that I will have in the range of $650,000 at retirement. If returns are anything like the past (I don't plan on them being so), my nest egg will be larger.
I was just wondering if there were others on the Bogleheads site who are in that range (less than $1 million) at or near retirement.
Re: In or Near Retirement with Only Six Figures?
Huge difference between having $100,00 and having $999,999