$$$ to be safe?

[NW-Bound]

The odds say you ain't gonna make it 6 months. That'll only cost 50 grand -

I'm not worried and I'm not buying LTC either.

I'll get rehabbed and get out or I'll die there.

The cost of mere 50 grands means one has a lot left over for expensive Cognac, truffle, and caviar. Unfortunately, when one is in that state, I don't think anything will taste that good. And it is particularly true when they have to put everything through the blender before you can eat. Caviar in a blender? XO Cognac mixed in with a thickening agent to turn to a gel so you can swallow?

 

[IMATERP]

I'd hope that my wife and I chose to collect SS at age 70. It would be nice to have 20k or pre arrangements paid for - for final expenses. Otherwise, I'd be content with what I had.

Vacations might take a different flavor at age 80 where Senior Low key bus trips would very much suffice. That's why we would have done the bulk of our travel by age 70.

My wife and I do not have children - so our executor could split the sale of the house with other family members.

Thus not really too much to think about as we would gravitate to living more simply.

 

[Car-Guy]

"Sooooo, with all of that said, I think 1 to 1.5 million (not adjusted for inflation) would make me feel pretty comfortable at that point."


At 80? How long do you plan to live?

Well probably into my 90's based on my parents and my grandparents lifespans. They all lived until 90 or beyond except one. Same with most aunts and uncles. All made it to 90+ and three are still living but are in their late 80's, so far. Great grandfather was over 100.

My financial planning has always been out to 100, although in the past few years I have begun to realize that's not at all likely to happen in my case. So I have increased my withdrawal and spend rates.

 

[street]

I would be fine with just SS and a small savings and I would manage on that. At that age it really doesn't make any difference to me if I had all the money in the world.

I know many people that live on SS with no pension and have some savings but not large savings accounts.

My parents had about 300K and just lived on SS. They lived a great life and had everything they needed. In the end nursing took all they had but I guess that money went for taking care of them.

 

[panacea]

Without a long term care possibility, the number would be $400,000 plus Social Security. But with medical uncertainties I'd round it up to an even $1 million.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Fedup. SS is 2/3 for one. Say, Husband get 20,000 a year, Wife get half of husband 10,000. If wife dies, husband still gets 20,000 or 2/3, If Husband dies, wife gets husbands 20,000, i.e. 2/3. Still a hit, but nos as great as half.

A lot of wives receive more than half of their husbands' SS--even I would have had I not opted to delay claiming on my own record, and I had pretty low earnings on average over my 30 years of employment. I know couples who each receive the max on their own records, so they efjnitely need to plan on lower total SS shen one dies.

 

[Fedup]

I will get $3500 at 70 or close to it. I just checked my SS record to confirm this. My husband is getting $2000. So if I go first, he will need income from somewhere to make up the difference. Assume we are both 80 in today's dollar. So it's not always 2/3. It's like less than half. I don't know if the amount would be higher if he takes benefit under my SS as a widow. But at max FRA, I only get $2600 or something like that. Widows benefit base on FRA only IIRC. So at best it would be 1/2 and not 2/3.

 

[NW-Bound]

I believe that the surviving spouse will get the deceased's SS if the latter is higher. And that's why it is often recommended that the spouse with the higher SS delays till 70.

When one of a couple dies, the survivor loses the lower SS. That's a reason for the spouse with the lower SS benefit to take it early, even at 62.

 

[Running_Man]

Assuming the conditions stated I would want:

100K for keeping the house in Repair
200K for my potential healthcare
200K for my wife’s potential healthcare

Enough additional to cover annual spending with social security based on a 5% withdrawal rate - since I would be 80. For me that would be about an additional 20K per year so another 400K.

With the 200K in house value to cover emergencies I would feel safe with that amount so it looks like 900 thousand based on my spending and potential social security, with a paid off house. I would make do obviously with much less if need be without worrying much over the situation.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Just for fun... You are my age... 80.
You own your home, value $200K.
You don't do much traveling or live high.
You're married, and both in good health.
No extraordinary other ongoing obligations
No pension or other income stream other than Social Security.

How many dollars of net worth (excluding home) would make you feel safe?

No right or wrong answer. Just curious.

Since no male in my family has gone past 77 I would need very little.

 

[Danmar]

My mother(91.5) is in an assisted living facility burning through about $80,000 per year. She has about 7 years of cash left. She feels comfortable about this and so do I but if she runs out, I will pay her expenses.

 

[Lawrence of Suburbia]

All the money in the world wouldn't make me feel 'safe', given the thugs and fools who are now running all the nuclear-armed superpowers (and aspiring ones) ... but this is why philosophy comes in handy. I've always tried to live with an awareness that I could die in a freak gardening accident or spontaneously combust at any time ...

I've only got enough to live in what I'd call 'genteel poverty' so, when the time comes, retiring will feel something like jumping off a very tall building; i.e. my withdrawal rate will probably decrease my portfolio pretty steadily over time. Given that "it's not the fall that kills you, but the stopping", hopefully I'll die peacefully in my sleep about six months before the cash runs out.