Do you still save each month if you are retired?

[travelover]

I've been retired 7 years, but DW still has two more to work. I save about $1K a month from my pension and use it max out a Roth and an HSA. I don't see any reason to spend extra money unless I want something.

[nash031]

Not yet retired, but I can see phases coming:

Phase 1: ER/Semi-ER - I'm not working or working part-time at an interest (income not important); DW will likely continue working. Either way, I'm sure we will continue saving in this phase.

Phase 2: Total ER - both DW and I are done. No intention to save at this point. We'll have emergency funds, but they'll be replenished from pension/savings as required.

Like others have said, once we get there, I intend to spend and enjoy as our means allow us. The question we're asking ourselves right now is: how much do we want as our "means" and how long are we willing to work to get it?

[rodi]

I'm not in savings mode at this point - but might be in the future.

Right now our only income sources are rent and DH's SS. It doesn't cover our spending, so we draw down the balance from savings.

In 2 years I will start drawing a small pension of about $500/month. We'll withdraw less when this kicks in.

Somewhere between 10 and 18 years from now I'll start collecting SS. Also in that timeframe, the kids will hopefully be launched. At that point, we will hopefully be drawing even less.

When RMDs kick in in 18 years I suspect we'll be spending less than the "income"... but RMDs don't have to be spent, they can be reallocated back to taxable accounts.

I can't see "saving" during retirement unless one has a surplus of income from sources like rent, pension, etc. I'm not in that boat.

[Sue J]

Our monthly expenses are currently 87% of DHs pension so we save the 13%. Also, I have a small part time job (school crossing guard) that I enjoy so I also save 100% of that income. I don't make much, it's only around $380-$400 a month net pay and it's only during the school year but it allows me to add to the ROTH IRA or our HSA.

I've always been a saver. It's actually in my DNA. Like some others here, I can't find anything else to spend money on. So we save up for the stuff that you know is going to come up as part of life (big medical costs this year) and home ownership (roof, windows and HVAC since DH retired) and being part of a family (out of town wedding) or aging. We just save what we can every month and know it will be there to cover stuff that happens.

[CaliforniaMan]

We find having a separate small passbook savings account very useful for budgeting and keeping us within our spending limits. Only been retired since April, but are doing the same as we did before. Each year we determine the monthly amount to put into our checking account, and every month that amount goes into checking and another account set-aside for non-monthly expenses like insurance payments and property tax. Anything extra from checking goes into this savings. We then can use this for extra travel or something special we want to get or to do. This helps us be more frugal, since we want there to be something left to put into our savings account. It is purely psychological of course, but we find it very helpful. And any money we splurge from what we have saved does not feel like we are splurging. So we enjoy it more. Our retirement accounts are separate, and are used only to determine the monthly withdrawal each year.

EDIT: The amount deposited into checking is after state and fed tax.

[Animorph]

SS and a small pension won't cover our expenses, and we'll be taking SS as late as possible. No saving for us.

[Ally]

Right now we save at least 30% of my salary in my 403 b while I still work. We also save in an account for regular payments of taxes, long term care insurance, and other insurances. We also have a savings exclusively for travel in the credit union funded by bonuses or unexpected money , which usually has $4-7000 in it. (On my nonprofit job, our board tends to give annual bonuses, instead of raises, so that they can give what we can afford each year. It's usually 1-5% of our salaries.) Then we have another savings account in my husband's credit union for our next vehicles. As someone else said, saving is in our DNA. Maybe we are crazy to have it all separated like that, but it works for us.

[ERhoosier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover ..... ....I don't see any reason to spend extra money unless I want something.

Or NEED something. I think many folks set aside $$ for predictable future expenses (e.g. major repair/replacement of big ticket items, big vacations, remodeling project, etc). Is that "savings" or just part of the long term budget? I call it smart budgeting.

[Tailgate]

We are both retired and we set aside (save) 8% of our income for future unpredictable expenses.. goes into the emergency account to keep it growing.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERhoosier Or NEED something. I think many folks set aside $$ for predictable future expenses (e.g. major repair/replacement of big ticket items, big vacations, remodeling project, etc). Is that "savings" or just part of the long term budget? I call it smart budgeting.

I don't really discriminate between my emergency fund and the rest of my stash. It is either spent or invested. Granted, some is in cash equivalents.

[jimnjana]

I don't save, extra cash gets moved to deferred spending accounts.

[veremchuka]

I save, what else would you call it?

I "save" $1500-$1800 per month, I've been retired just over 7 years. I don't need to take distributions from investments, I just have extra income I don't need to spend = "savings".

I have always been a LBYN's person and I'm not spending wildy in retirement but I'm not living a homeless person's life either. I don't wish for anything, I'll spend on whatever I want or need but my wants and needs are simple. I could buy stuff but I don't want or need "stuff".

I am therefore I save.

[Debinnov a]

Sadly no saving for us. Retired in May after selling small business. Now we are trying to get used to not having any income coming in and drawing down savings. Taking SS at 70 for me and that's 13 years away and DH is six years younger (robbed the cradle) so at least sixteen years before two SS payments coming in. No pensions - so we are intent on sticking to our budget until then.

Sent from my KFJWI using Tapatalk HD

[Major Tom]

As others have said, if you have income from a pension, SS, or similar, that is surplus to your requirements, then you are in a position to save. All of my income comes from the withdrawals from my portfolio, so the the moment I stopped working, the concept of saving ceased to exist for me.

However, my withdrawals stand at about 2.05% per annum of the current value of my stash so although I'm not saving, I think my WR is sustainable, even if I increase it a little in the years ahead.

[brett]

We spend more than our pension income. But we spend comparatively little of our passive investment income. It simply gets reinvested.

[explanade]

My targeted WR will be about 2.4 to 2.5%. Non discretionary living expenses are about half to 3/5 of that.

I have over 2 years of targeted budget in cash or 3-4 years of non discretionary expenses.

So I'm thinking of perhaps leaving DRIP on for a year or two, so that when I do start spending dividends and drawing down cash, there will be more shares than at ER. So that would be a form of saving in ER.

But I also think about spending more in the first decade or two, on the premise that one would be better able to do more requiring money before they reach their early or mid 70s, such as traveling to places which may be difficult for folks with mobility limitations.

OTOH, this transition to withdrawals after a lifetime of saving could be unsettling, with unknowns like health care costs and taxes so I'm thinking of staying with the targeted WR and then boosting it after you get a handle on these unknowns.

[Chuckanut]

Still save? I guess I do if you count not withdrawing as much as I had planned to over the year.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover I've been retired 7 years, but DW still has two more to work. I save about $1K a month from my pension and use it max out a Roth and an HSA. I don't see any reason to spend extra money unless I want something.

You must be one heck of a guy to have a good woman who will work for years after you have retired to a life of idle pleasures.

[REWahoo]

Still save? Hell no.

We built up a nest egg so we could enjoy retirement and that's what we're doing. We try not to overspend but we certainly don't 'save' any of our income.

BTW, get off my lawn...

[nash031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tailgate We are both retired and we set aside (save) 8% of our income for future unpredictable expenses.. goes into the emergency account to keep it growing.

I don't see the purpose of a conventional "emergency fund" in retirement. Does this mean you don't keep 2-3 years worth of expenses set aside in cash/cash equivalent?

As others said, in retirement, I figured money is either invested or it's not.