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Retirees, does SS cover all your needs?
12-14-2018, 05:09 PM
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#1
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 91
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Retirees, does SS cover all your needs?
I ask cause it “appears” that even with cuts that SS would cover our expenses. Even retiring early the numbers are there as we are high earners and don’t spend much.
It would seem that we could still plan for a 30yr drawdown but have it be from 40-70yrs. At 40yrs we’ll be at 4%WR and that’s with pitiful 3% estimated returns.
Spending down tax advantage would avoid tax torpedo. Downsides?
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12-14-2018, 05:11 PM
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#2
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Huntsville, AL/Helen, GA
Posts: 6,002
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Social Security doesn't begin to cover our expenses. I'd say it's $60K short. But I'm fortunate to have a defined pension seldom being offered in this modern world.
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12-14-2018, 05:22 PM
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#3
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 13,184
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If you're living month to month on SS, you would run into trouble if a large expense hit. So you'd have to keep something for an emergency fund.
Runaway inflation could be a problem. SS is indexed for inflation, but I'm not sure it really keeps up with real inflation.
What happens if one of you dies at age 70? I don't know the answer since I'm not married, but the survivor only gets one benefit (the higher one), right? Can one of you live on one SS benefit?
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12-14-2018, 05:35 PM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Independence
Posts: 7,271
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Just got word that my SS check will be bumped up in January. After the deduction for Medicare B and D they will be depositing a check in the amount of $215.60/month into my bank account. Good thing we don't have to pay rent. The cat will stay fed and I'm grateful.
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12-14-2018, 05:36 PM
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#5
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 3,405
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No way. Doesn't even cover the mortgage.
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12-14-2018, 05:40 PM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,204
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We haven't started SS yet... a few years from FRA. SS will cover about 50% of our planned spending... however many years we spend less than planned so it could be more.
According to the SSA, it is designed to replace about 40% of pre-retirement income. It is one-leg of a 3-legged stool... that is why people need to save... and they need to save even more if they won't be getting a defined benefit pension. Unfortunately, many of my peers never got the memo on that or chose to ignore it and as a result will have to work longer.
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12-14-2018, 05:48 PM
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#7
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 6,985
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Due to WEP mine will be 350 and DH 500 before deductions so no. Our small pensions total 40k together and our expenses run between 60-70k/year.
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12-14-2018, 05:52 PM
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#8
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: St. Charles
Posts: 3,891
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In 2 years (FRA), SS will cover 60-70% of our current spend. Frankly, we never expected it to be that much. Pretty much discounted it in the planning phase.
This will put our WR in the 1-2% range (and 2% is high).
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12-14-2018, 06:13 PM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 13,184
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Also, if you are planning to retire at 40, you should make sure you've calculated your SS benefits correctly. The benefit statement you get assumes you'll keep working until retirement. Put 0's in for your 40s, 50s, and 60s with their calculator to see what you'll really be getting.
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12-14-2018, 06:16 PM
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#10
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 91
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I don’t get a benefit statement. I calculate from a spreadsheet that physicianonfire put together
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12-14-2018, 06:54 PM
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#11
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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The OP asks: Retirees, does SS cover all your needs?
If we defer both of ours until 70, then SS benefit will match our expenses.
However, my wife will claim hers soon instead of delaying, and then there's the talk of SS being cut-back 20% due to funding shortfall.
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12-14-2018, 07:05 PM
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#12
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Syracuse
Posts: 3,501
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I'm expecting the FRA SS to cover needs but not wants. SS at 70 should cover needs and a little fun.
I don't want to live a minimalist life though.
__________________
“No, not rich. I am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing"
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12-14-2018, 07:39 PM
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#13
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,328
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Sure, it is more than enough now that we moved under a bridge and keep our possessions in an old grocery cart.
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12-14-2018, 07:45 PM
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#14
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 9,373
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No, it won't but will take care of about 50% worth. I haven't received SS yet so that is a projection what it would cover in out life style.
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12-14-2018, 07:54 PM
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#15
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,307
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DH and I are both collecting SS. We did not wait to age 70. For this year, it didn't come close to covering spending as we had a lot of expenses involved with moving. Going forward I expect it to cover about 60% of spending. However, much of that includes things that are discretionary. If we really needed to, it would probably cover about 75% of our expenses if it really had to. I guess we could get that to 100% if we really, really had to but I would prefer not to.
And, of course, bear in mind that eventually there will be only one SS being collected as generally one member of a married couple dies before the other...
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12-14-2018, 07:59 PM
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#16
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 243
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No, because we are not yet on Medicare and health insurance is outrageous.
It's a darn good thing that we are FI, otherwise this retirement thing would be a real drag. We spent almost $19K in medical (premiums + deductible and OOP) and over $4K in dental (no dental insurance) in 2018.
When we were planning for FIRE in the 80s, we did not count on getting any SS. We also never dreamed that our health insurance premiums would cost more than a mortgage!!
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12-14-2018, 08:11 PM
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#17
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 9,358
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SS and pensions will cover all our basic spending and a few frills. Any investment income we decide to spend will just go for extra travel / fun / asteroid strike. If one of us dies the other will have the higher SS, pension income, investment income and would probably rent out the current house, so more than enough for one person to still live well.
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12-14-2018, 08:13 PM
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#18
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,806
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Retirees, does SS cover all your needs?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beer-man
I ask cause it “appears” that even with cuts that SS would cover our expenses. ...
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What difference does it make to you if our SS covers our expenses or not? We are not you.
I see no value in that question. Different people have different SS due. Different wants/needs and comfort levels.
Is this the retiree version of "keeping up with the Jones's"? I don't get it.
-ERD50
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12-14-2018, 08:34 PM
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#19
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gone traveling
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,375
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No, but we could change so that it would & feel OK.
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Retirees, does SS cover all your needs?
12-14-2018, 08:53 PM
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#20
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 91
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Retirees, does SS cover all your needs?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ERD50
Retirees, does SS cover all your needs?
What difference does it make to you if our SS covers our expenses or not? We are not you.
I see no value in that question. Different people have different SS due. Different wants/needs and comfort levels.
Is this the retiree version of "keeping up with the Jones's"? I don't get it.
-ERD50
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I’m in my 30’s so I’m trying to get a feel for how retiree’s are doing with their SS. I have a decent SS earnings history(cause I work a ton of overtime) and a very low burn rate. I’d like to hope that trend will continue but time will tell.
Was hoping to see how like minded people a generation older than me were faring. All I read about online is about how SS barely covers anything and everyone at work in their 50’s and 60’s doesn’t want to talk about SS or retirement in general.
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