How long until you retire?

[DegenerateDish]

36. Based on current investing, saving and spending could retire in around 20 years. Tuition, large home improvements and vacation residence can vary this.

Realistically, probably work til about 63. Retire for 20 years and die properly at 83.

I see what you did there.

IYKYK

[warriorchick]

Retired 2 years ago at 57 and have never regretted it for one second.

I honestly can't imagine a job that I would enjoy better than all the stuff I have been doing instead.

[brewcity77]

We are only a couple generations removed from working until we die.  So I get why people feel this way.

Going forward, or back? I think working until we die is going to make a big comeback pretty soon. My wife is already seeing it in healthcare, where people are working well into their 70s because they don't have enough put away. And it amazes me how many people in their 30s haven't started saving for retirement, and because they just bounce job to job don't have any long term plans set up. I really think working into the grave is going to become really popular in the next few decades.

[DegenerateDish]

Going forward, or back? I think working until we die is going to make a big comeback pretty soon. My wife is already seeing it in healthcare, where people are working well into their 70s because they don't have enough put away. And it amazes me how many people in their 30s haven't started saving for retirement, and because they just bounce job to job don't have any long term plans set up. I really think working into the grave is going to become really popular in the next few decades.

I agree with this 100%. When I bring up retirement savings with my close friends, I’m always surprised how little they have saved. Even my brother who is 3 years younger than me and does really well for himself, has half the 401k I do.

The best advice my dad gave me was to start a 401k and put as much as you can into it from day 1 after getting a job after MU (my brother didn’t listen as well as I did). I think 20-30 years from now could be ugly for a lot of people.

[rocky_warrior]

The best advice my dad gave me was to start a 401k and put as much as you can into it from day 1 after getting a job after MU (my brother didn’t listen as well as I did). I think 20-30 years from now could be ugly for a lot of people.

It wasn't my family, but coworkers when I was fresh out of college.  They were older and I dumbly asked if I should buy into the company stock purchase plan, they said "Until you can afford to max out your 401k, don't even think about any other investments"  Good advice for the past 25+years.

[warriorchick]

It wasn't my family, but coworkers when I was fresh out of college.  They were older and I dumbly asked if I should buy into the company stock purchase plan, they said "Until you can afford to max out your 401k, don't even think about any other investments"  Good advice for the past 25+years.

I worked my entire career in positions where I saw everyone's payroll information, and I was shocked at the number of professional people in their fifties who weren't contributing to their 401(k)s. Many of them were people who drove nice cars and took fancy vacations. Just plain stupid.

[Hards Alumni]

I agree with this 100%. When I bring up retirement savings with my close friends, I’m always surprised how little they have saved. Even my brother who is 3 years younger than me and does really well for himself, has half the 401k I do.

The best advice my dad gave me was to start a 401k and put as much as you can into it from day 1 after getting a job after MU (my brother didn’t listen as well as I did). I think 20-30 years from now could be ugly for a lot of people.

"Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn't, pays it."

I worked my entire career in positions where I saw everyone's payroll information, and I was shocked at the number of professional people in their fifties who weren't contributing to their 401(k)s. Many of them were people who drove nice cars and took fancy vacations. Just plain stupid.

And you knew why they had those things.  It is astonishing how bad we are, as a species, at long term planning.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

You know that everyone who doesn't contribute significantly to their 401K isn't just bad with money.  Not everyone can afford to put money away towards retirement because they have pressing financial needs now. Of course in many cases it is just being bad with money

[dgies9156]

I worked my entire career in positions where I saw everyone's payroll information, and I was shocked at the number of professional people in their fifties who weren't contributing to their 401(k)s. Many of them were people who drove nice cars and took fancy vacations. Just plain stupid.

+1000!

My fear in retirement is that because my wife and I sacrificed and saved, we're going to end up paying for the folks that didn't. Either through taxes, curtailed Social Security or massive income-based premiums on Medicare.

Somebody has to pay for those nice cars and fancy vacations.

I got a kick out of the Home Depot idea for post-retirement With my luck, I'd end up working for my son, who manages the front end at a Home Depot!

[Hards Alumni]

You know that everyone who doesn't contribute significantly to their 401K isn't just bad with money.  Not everyone can afford to put money away towards retirement because they have pressing financial needs now. Of course in many cases it is just being bad with money

In my experience, the people who have pressing financial needs 'now' will always have those 'needs'.  Pulling 3% of your income into a 401k isn't much, but it adds up over time.  And of course, I'm talking about bare minimum numbers.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

In my experience, the people who have pressing financial needs 'now' will always have those 'needs'.  Pulling 3% of your income into a 401k isn't much, but it adds up over time.  And of course, I'm talking about bare minimum numbers.

Yep,  but sometimes if those needs now aren't addressed,  they won't be around for needs later

[warriorchick]

Yep,  but sometimes if those needs now aren't addressed,  they won't be around for needs later

No one "needs" a brand new car or an annual trip to Disney World. No one needs to eat out every day for lunch, either.

[dgies9156]

No one "needs" a brand new car or an annual trip to Disney World. No one needs to eat out every day for lunch, either.

Sister Chick:

You hit the nail right on the head. Saving for retirement isn't something that pays in the short-run. But it's something that if not done will cause serious problems down the road.

Sacrifice has to be part of the game. I get that some folks are doing everything they can to get by, but you have to get in the habit of putting something away. Something!

My Home Depot-working, hourly employee son, will be saving for retirement beginning in January. If he doesn't he'll have Dad to contend with!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

No one "needs" a brand new car or an annual trip to Disney World. No one needs to eat out every day for lunch, either.

I'm not talking about those people. I am talking about my wife's coworker whose entire paycheck goes into her family's basic needs and medical bills from her childs cancer diagnosis.

All I'm saying is you can't assume that everyone who hasn't saved properly for retirement is bad with money. If you have the ability to retire with a healthy sum you are very blessed. Not everyone will have had the same options.

[lawdog77]

I'm 52, with a 10 year old, and a 13 yr old, so won't be retiring soon. When I do retire though, I think I will be fine not having a job to go to. I learned awhile back that my job does not define me. I stopped saying " I am an attorney", and instead say I work as an attorney. It helps me.

[Goose]

I am very happy that all three of my sons have maxed out a Roth IRA every year since turning 21 and contribute a fair amount to their 401k every year. That definitely gives me peace of mind about their future. The older I get I say to no to personal expenditures more and more and invest that money in safe stocks. My Dad always used to say "you have to have some breathing room" and I am paranoid in a good way to keep trying to have more breathing room.

[Pakuni]

I'm not talking about those people. I am talking about my wife's coworker whose entire paycheck goes into her family's basic needs and medical bills from her childs cancer diagnosis.

All I'm saying is you can't assume that everyone who hasn't saved properly for retirement is bad with money. If you have the ability to retire with a healthy sum you are very blessed. Not everyone will have had the same options.

Nailed it, TAMU.
The belief that anyone who faces poverty or struggles financially is a victim of their own bad choices seems a particularly American affliction. Of course, many of those people do exist. But many others are victims of bad luck and circumstance. After all, depending on which research you believe, anywhere between 40 and 65 percent of personal bankruptcies in the U.S. are tied to medical expenses.

[MU82]

I am very happy that all three of my sons have maxed out a Roth IRA every year since turning 21 and contribute a fair amount to their 401k every year. That definitely gives me peace of mind about their future. The older I get I say to no to personal expenditures more and more and invest that money in safe stocks. My Dad always used to say "you have to have some breathing room" and I am paranoid in a good way to keep trying to have more breathing room.

My son and daughter-in-law, both 34 with 2 1/2 year old twin boys, just asked for a little advice regarding saving for retirement. They have a mortgage and a car loan, but no credit-card debt, and they have been contributing strongly to their 401k plans. But my DIL's plan doesn't include a company match. I suggested my son contribute fully to get his match, and that they both max out their Roth IRAs. Then they can put some more into their 401ks if they have $$ they feel they can spare. They also have started 529s for their kids. It's not easy for young people to think about 10 or 20 or 30 years down the line, so I'm proud of them.

I worked my entire career in positions where I saw everyone's payroll information, and I was shocked at the number of professional people in their fifties who weren't contributing to their 401(k)s. Many of them were people who drove nice cars and took fancy vacations. Just plain stupid.

Crazy. We have a savings crisis in this country.

I don't recall the exact statistic, but a huge percentage of Americans in their late-50s and early-60s don't have even $50K put away. And a huge percentage of all ages don't have enough emergency cash to do a $1K car repair if one were necessary. It's staggering.

Some folks are destitute or are living paycheck-to-paycheck, so that's one thing. But some, as you say, make decent money and just piss it all away.

[StillAWarrior]

I agree with this 100%. When I bring up retirement savings with my close friends, I’m always surprised how little they have saved. Even my brother who is 3 years younger than me and does really well for himself, has half the 401k I do.

The best advice my dad gave me was to start a 401k and put as much as you can into it from day 1 after getting a job after MU (my brother didn’t listen as well as I did). I think 20-30 years from now could be ugly for a lot of people.

This. Time is your friend. I have two kids who are working know. I've tried to drill this into them. I've encouraged them to always contribute the maximum, but I absolutely insisted that they need to take full advantage of any matching. I'd like to make sure that if they're not at the maximum yet, they should bump it up as soon as they are able. This thread had reminded me to talk with them about it again.

[Warrior Code]

I'm 52, with a 10 year old, and a 13 yr old, so won't be retiring soon. When I do retire though, I think I will be fine not having a job to go to. I learned awhile back that my job does not define me. I stopped saying " I am an attorney", and instead say I work as an attorney. It helps me.

This. I wish there was a different standard question when meeting someone new other than asking what I do for a living. Unless they're an astronaut or something, I would want to learn about someone by asking about their interests rahter than their career.

[muwarrior69]

My son and daughter-in-law, both 34 with 2 1/2 year old twin boys, just asked for a little advice regarding saving for retirement. They have a mortgage and a car loan, but no credit-card debt, and they have been contributing strongly to their 401k plans. But my DIL's plan doesn't include a company match. I suggested my son contribute fully to get his match, and that they both max out their Roth IRAs. Then they can put some more into their 401ks if they have $$ they feel they can spare. They also have started 529s for their kids. It's not easy for young people to think about 10 or 20 or 30 years down the line, so I'm proud of them.

Crazy. We have a savings crisis in this country.

I don't recall the exact statistic, but a huge percentage of Americans in their late-50s and early-60s don't have even $50K put away. And a huge percentage of all ages don't have enough emergency cash to do a $1K car repair if one were necessary. It's staggering.

Some folks are destitute or are living paycheck-to-paycheck, so that's one thing. But some, as you say, make decent money and just piss it all away.

I agree people today have it tougher. I have two pensions, my wife also has a pension. Very few if any starting out today is going to get a company pension. Both our 401ks were matched 2 to 1 by the company, today you're lucky if get a company match. With our pensions, 401k distribution and SS our annual retirement income is in excess of a 110k after taxes. We have sizable investments with Vanguard and Merril Lynch and when we sold our home we opened a 100k 529 for our grand daughter. We are not wealthy but we are doing all right.

As Chick said if one lives within their means or strives to live below their means it can reduce a lot of anxiety in ones life.

[Skatastrophy]

It's been hard to pull the trigger on early retirement. Every time I hit my 'number' my number goes up. It's mentally challenging to walk away during the highest-earning part of my career. Especially now that my good friends are in the c-suite and handing out really engaging, rewarding roles that come along with ownership stakes in their business. I keep saying, "why not 3 more years?"

Philosophically I am looking forward to immersing myself in being "useless" for the first time in my life upon retirement. Throwing myself into a few of my passions, and trying to redirect (or let go of) that hyper-driven lifestyle of building venture-backed companies. I'm in my early 40s, and I'll be done by 50 I think.

Then again the friends I'm working with just had a multi-billion dollar exit when their company went public. They lasted ~10 months before starting this new company. Once you don't have to work for a salary anymore and you're just working for passion and to make a splash it takes the anxious, negative stress out of your career.

[JWags85]

This. I wish there was a different standard question when meeting someone new other than asking what I do for a living. Unless they're an astronaut or something, I would want to learn about someone by asking about their interests rahter than their career.

I mean, I hear you, but also, for better or for worse, its the single activity you do for the most amount of your time, other than sleeping.  Its an easy ice breaker.  Don't let it define you, definitely.  But its still a simple way to establish commonality or talk about yourself.

[ATL MU Warrior]

No one "needs" a brand new car or an annual trip to Disney World. No one needs to eat out every day for lunch, either.

Do you think this represents everyone who is not saving for retirement?

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Do you think this represents everyone who is not saving for retirement?

Why are people jumping on chick?  She clearly isn't talking about lower income people, she stated its the people in their 50s that make good coin, don't save for retirement and chose to spend their money elsewhere.  YOLO!