If you haven't already read the first post of these series , I suggest you go back and do so to get the background of what we are trying to show. For this particular post, we just want to know how much is needed to live for the 20 years between the ages of 65 and 85 if you were making $60,000 a year prior to retirement. Again, read the last post , to see where the numbers came from. Speaking of numbers, it is important to note that individual goals and resources ultimately dictate how one will fare in retirement. The numbers presented here are general and are only used to make a point. To begin figuring out how much is needed for 20 years of retirement, we have to first establish how much income is needed during retirement years. After taking into account certain changes like healthcare costs and taxes, a recent study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that even after 5 or 6 years in retirement, 46.9% of households spend at more than 80% of their preretire...
It's been quite some time since a new post surfaced on this blog. I promised I was going to write a series pointing out reasons to care about stocks. They're coming, but this topic came up instead. I am currently employed at an employee benefits company where we assemble, create, manage, and update employee benefits such as retirement, medical, and ancillary (dental, vision, life, etc) plans for a number of employers. In other words, we set up all the extra perks you look at besides salary when you get a new job. As my familiarity with this arena grows, I noticed that many of the employees of these clients are older Americans with balances less than $100,000 in their 401K plans. As a person with a lifelong focus on helping individuals leave an inheritance for not only their children but also their children's children, my senses immediately alerted me that there is no way this amount of money is enough for retirement. So, I decided to do the math to either confirm or ...