How much do you have saved for retirement? (2016)

[Kodos]

Average Retirement Savings by Age | How Do You Compare?

This is a followup to a previous thread from late 2013.

This is an anonymous poll. To keep things on even footing with the previous poll, please only report your personal savings, not your household.

[rowech]

I'm never sure whether to include our state retirement system in such amounts. We save extra on top of that so it seems less than we should have but I'm guessing factoring in the state amount (assuming it is still there twenty years from now) we are in decent shape.

[Kodos]

I should have done this before the recent downturn in the market.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by rowech

I'm never sure whether to include our state retirement system in such amounts. We save extra on top of that so it seems less than we should have but I'm guessing factoring in the state amount (assuming it is still there twenty years from now) we are in decent shape.

FWIW, I didn't include my pension from my current employer.

[jeff061]

All 401k based. Was putting in 6%-8% from 20-28 years old and have been maxing it since then(34 now). It's very much out of sight and out of mind for me, so hopefully it's enough come retirement time.

I need to get better with my financials.

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by Kodos

FWIW, I didn't include my pension from my current employer.

then really what's the point? a pension, even a small one, can make a million dollar difference.

also, what is meant by individually? my wife has $0 saved for retirement. so any retirement i have is worth half as much as some other spouse whose spouse has comparable savings.

[Kodos]

The point is in case you get divorced, how much do you personally have.

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by Kodos

The point is in case you get divorced, how much do you personally have.

Yikes. Scary thought. 50% of what I thought I had I guess. But I supposed the "assume you need 80% of your working income in retirement" also goes down as well with divorce. So I guess for any of us you'd add your savings + spouses savings and divide by 2?

[Kodos]

Assuming I stay with my current employer until I retire (which is my plan), I should be in decent shape. I will have a nice pension by the time I leave, and throw the 403(b) on top of that and I'll be in good shape.

[Senator]

Doing really well on this front, but I don't recommend anyone having to work like I have to get there. Quality of life is important.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

We don't have a lot of retirement, but that's because we're bankrolled pretty heavily into our business, which has good value and we could sell at any time if we had to due to high demand for land in the area.

[sabotai]

Yeah, I should start thinking about that...

[Radii]

I had saved some in my 20s through a company 401k but not nearly what I could have afforded to save at the time, cashed most of it out for reasons that made sense at the time even w/ the penalties, and then while I was married and later for the 6ish years that I was helping to take care of dad in my 30s I was not working much at all. Its just been the last 2 years that I've actually started setting aside money properly.

So I'm definitely well behind where I should be at age 39, but the last couple years I've been able to sock away quite a bit and hopefully that continues. Right now my sense is that if social security is still a thing in 30 years I'll be absolutely fine. If not the late start could make things difficult.

[Drake]

Not even counting the $25k loss I managed to take in the market last year, the optimum numbers make me glad I'm a smoker (i.e., don't *really* have to worry about retirement, 'cuz my kids will be spending whatever $$ my dumbass corpse leaves behind).

That said, the fact that I'm well above the "actual" numbers for people in my age group is a little scary.

For the record, I can't take any credit for being ahead of the curve. One my perks is that my employer automatically contributes 10% of my salary to my 403b. Anything beyond that has been small and inconsistent on my part.

[CU Tiger]

This is such a difficult metric for me.
In traditional 401k/IRA...not enough.
But Ive simultaneously and parallel built a real estate portfolio of rental properties that when paid off will spit out a nice income semi-in perpetuity.

What I mean is this Ive bought and traded for residential rental properties that generate around $15k/month. Today that goes 100% into debt servicing. Once they are all paid for. (2019) the numbers work out that roughly 5k/month will be required to cover expenses (insurance, taxes, random repairs ANC all cap ex ) which leaves a $10k/ month "income"...with that basis I am not sure how much 401k I need.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

This is such a difficult metric for me.
In traditional 401k/IRA...not enough.
But Ive simultaneously and parallel built a real estate portfolio of rental properties that when paid off will spit out a nice income semi-in perpetuity.

What I mean is this Ive bought and traded for residential rental properties that generate around $15k/month. Today that goes 100% into debt servicing. Once they are all paid for. (2019) the numbers work out that roughly 5k/month will be required to cover expenses (insurance, taxes, random repairs ANC all cap ex ) which leaves a $10k/ month "income"...with that basis I am not sure how much 401k I need.

The nice thing about a setup like that is I would assume it scales nicely with inflation.

[flere-imsaho]

Yeah, I'd say you're ahead of the game, CU Tiger.

[MacroGuru]

I could go the other end of the spectrum.

I am finishing up a nasty ass 6 year divorce where I have financially lost my ass in about all ways possible. As I come out of it, I will be in rebuilding mode at the age of 41, my Dad has been able to do it so I know I can, but it's going to force me to go a route I am not to keen on going, but I know I have to.

My 401K, forced to split it at the beginning of the proceedings (separation) and my share went to pay my lawyers.

Stocks and options were sold to survive and pay my lawyers.

I haven't been able to sock any money away for retirement over the last 6 years because I have had to pay for lawyers.

The only people this divorce has helped has been the lawyers.

I will be back up pretty quickly, it's just going to take some time.

[Kodos]

Divorces are so nasty. Hang in there, bud.

[Kodos]

The Champions of the 401(k) Lament the Revolution They Started

[Kodos]

Happy to note that I've moved up a bracket since this was posted!

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Happy to note that I've moved up a bracket since this was posted!

2 for me.

[Kodos]

Kudos, my good man.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Happy to note that I've moved up a bracket since this was posted!

I haven't...

Originally Posted by sabotai

Yeah, I should start thinking about that...

But I did start thinking about it! And I do have a lot more (relatively) in savings than I did back in February, just nothing in a "retirement account". But I do plan on getting that started this year.

[Draft Dodger]

At 18 I got a summer job at a place that had a 401k so I started putting a little away. One of the best happy accidents ever, because that little bit has really grown (I ended up staying there for 10 years). Oh, and I have a decent pension from them to boot.

more lucky than smart, but it's worked.

[Suicane75]

I got $1500 but I need a damn couch. I'll retire on that couch.

[Kodos]

Two-Thirds of Americans Aren't Putting Money in Their 401(k) - Bloomberg

Article is a little dated, but it paints a dark picture of retirement savings habits in America.

Also, I've jumped up 3 levels in the poll!

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Two-Thirds of Americans Aren’t Putting Money in Their 401(k) - Bloomberg

Article is a little dated, but it paints a dark picture of retirement savings habits in America.

Also, I've jumped up 3 levels in the poll!

That's awesome. It's a total of 4 for me since we polled this originally.

[Kodos]

Nice job!

[tarcone]

Still not sure what to put.
I recently got my statement about what I will make when I retire at different points. If I go in 4 1/2 years I make about $3400 a month.
This is based on my state retirement system.
I put 15% of my salary in and my employer matches 14.5%. I get a percentage based on years. I get that amount based on my 3 best years.

Plus I have a 403b.

Not much in that. But I started late.

I can, also, take a lump sum and lower my monthly payment. That can be up to $150k.

So Im not sure where I fall.

[DanGarion]

It depends on if I count my house as a retirement asset...

[nilodor]

Originally Posted by DanGarion

It depends on if I count my house as a retirement asset...

Depends on where you're going to live when you're retired.

[molson]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Still not sure what to put.
I recently got my statement about what I will make when I retire at different points. If I go in 4 1/2 years I make about $3400 a month.
This is based on my state retirement system.
I put 15% of my salary in and my employer matches 14.5%. I get a percentage based on years. I get that amount based on my 3 best years.

Plus I have a 403b.

Not much in that. But I started late.

I can, also, take a lump sum and lower my monthly payment. That can be up to $150k.

So Im not sure where I fall.

I'm close to the same boat except without employer matching and no lump sum options. If I stay at my job until I'm 59 (which is the plan), I'd be looking at about $43k a year from the pension until I die (adjusted every year for cost-of-living), and then any wife who outlives me gets that until she dies. If we both die early, the state wins, if one of us lives to 90, it's a huge score v. what I put in. And then that pension goes up every year if I keep working beyond 59. But I'd really like to be able to retire then - my girlfriend's father did that after a full career in state government and he's really living the dream now. Then there's a optional employer 401k plan on top of that that I need to start putting more into, there's only $10k there now. And then hopefully a paid-off house, some savings, and some modest inheritance. Won't be living the life of luxury, but it would be more than I expected most of my life.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Two-Thirds of Americans Aren't Putting Money in Their 401(k) - Bloomberg

Article is a little dated, but it paints a dark picture of retirement savings habits in America.

Also, I've jumped up 3 levels in the poll!

Awesome. Up 2 for me and working steadily at it.

[Edward64]

For those with government/state pensions -

1) If you pass, I assume the pension is 100% transferable to your spouse? If your spouse eventually pass, does it transfer to your dependents (e.g. under 21?)

2) Do you get pension and also social security?

3) Do you also get healthcare benefits when you retire or go on pension?

[tarcone]

1. No. That is why we have the option of taking a lump sum. That does stay with my spouse, etc.

2. Not sure about SS. I worked many quarters before I gothtis job. Im not 100% sure about this. I do not pay SS taxes now.

3. Not in Missouri. Michigan does though. I will have to buy health care.

[Eaglesfan27]

I used to work for the state of Louisiana... and at least in that state, the pension was in lieu of social security and we did not put money into social security when we worked for the state.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Edward64

For those with government/state pensions -

1) If you pass, I assume the pension is 100% transferable to your spouse? If your spouse eventually pass, does it transfer to your dependents (e.g. under 21?)

2) Do you get pension and also social security?

3) Do you also get healthcare benefits when you retire or go on pension?

1. Spouse yes, dependents no. The monthly payment ends with the death of the last surviving spouse. But if I die before retirement, spouse only gets a "death benefit," which is a lump sum of double whatever I put into the pension plus interest. Maybe $350-$400k if I died right before retirement. You can assign that death benefit to anyone you want. It would be much less than I or she would get if we lived a long time. (Would see well over a million overall paid out if one of us lived to 90).

2. Pension, social security (we pay into that too), and an optional 401k that works like any 401k at a private company.

3. If you're Post-retirement, but pre-65 years old, you get basically the same insurance you did working. Post-65, no, but you can convert unused sick time into some kind of medicare supplement. And you get a LOT of sick time. But I'm not sure what kind of a difference-maker that is in practical effect.

[Kodos]

Good TED talk on getting people to save for the future. One astounding fact is that on average Americans spend $1,000 on lottery tickets each year. Unfortunately, it's the poor that bring that average up.

[miami_fan]

This feels like the proper thread for this article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/b...americans.html

[Edward64]

Pretty sad. It seems that healthcare expenses is one of the common threads.

The questionnaire asked filers what led them to seek bankruptcy protection. Much like the broader population, people 65 and older usually cited multiple factors. About three in five said unmanageable medical expenses played a role. A little more than two-thirds cited a drop in income. Nearly three-quarters put some blame on hounding by debt collectors.

The study does not delve into those underlying factors, but separate data provides some insight. The median household led by someone 65 or older had liquid savings of $60,600 in 2016, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, whereas the bottom 25 percent of households had saved at most $3,260.

That doesn’t provide much of a financial cushion for a catastrophic health problem. Older Americans typically turn to Medicare to pay their medical bills. But gaps in coverage, high premiums and requirements that patients shoulder some costs force many lower-income beneficiaries to spend more of their own income on those bills, the Kaiser Family Foundation found.
:
:
More people are also entering their later years carrying debt. For many of them, at least some of the debt is a mortgage — roughly 41 percent in 2016, compared with 21 percent in 1989, according to an Urban Institute analysis.

[lungs]

Oof. I forget how I answered this poll. It looked a lot better back then. I'm pretty much down to zero now after milking cows went bust.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Good TED talk on getting people to save for the future. One astounding fact is that on average Americans spend $1,000 on lottery tickets each year. Unfortunately, it's the poor that bring that average up.

I didn't watch the video so maybe he explains it better but I do have to question the lottery statistic. From what I could find in a quick google search Americans spent $80 billion on lottery tickets in 2016. There are approximately 325 million Americans. Napkin math tells us that the average American spends $246 on lottery tickets, or a quarter of what the guy says.

[Scoobz0202]

How many of that 325 is of lottery buying age?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

How many of that 325 is of lottery buying age?

Right around 3/4th (depends on the year for the stats and whether you count 18+ or 21+ )

And before anyone wonders, lotteries are now legal in 44 of 50 states & those where it isn't simply are not large enough to make a huge statistical change in any per capita math.

[CraigSca]

As long as the stock market can gain 50% per year, I should be just fine.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

As long as the stock market can gain 50% per year, I should be just fine.

That seems like a prudent expectation.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

As long as the stock market can gain 50% per year, I should be just fine.

I'd be a millionaire in less than 4 years!

[NobodyHere]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/th...ets-2017-07-24

Here's a list of states that spend the most per capita on the lottery. Honestly I'm surprised that the top states are blue states.

[jeff061]

I suspect things like population density and access to stores offering lottery tickets, as well as advertising and other things have far more influence than any blue/red stereotype.

That said, I live in MA and have never purchased a lotto ticket in my life, so I really have no idea why people in my state purchase more than others. I ignore that noise.