$$$ to be safe?

[imoldernu]

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.

 

[socca]

No amount - there are too many threats that money can't counter.

 

[pb4uski]

It depends How much do you need to live on?

If your need is 80% of what you receive in SS then you're golden... if closer to 100% then you would want some $$$ to fall back on if you had a spate of 'bad luck'.

 

[Sojourner]

Assuming you and your spouse are both drawing SS and are spending under $75K per year, I would feel financially secure with a net worth of about $800,000.

 

[Dash man]

I'd feel comfortable with at least one million. Health care and long term care costs are unpredictable. If I outlive DW I plan to travel as much as my health allows. Or maybe I'll just buy a Ferrari.

 

[NW-Bound]

If SS covers my expenses, and Medicare takes care of my medical needs, then I would only have to worry about my roof, my car, my appliances that may need replacement from time to time. A few hundred $K should be more than enough. My mother has only that much. And she is not worried. My inlaws had much less.

But I want more. It is not for security as much as the joy of counting. I don't call myself Uncle Scrooge for nothin'.

 

[euro]

agree with others - if SS covers daily needs, then a couple of hundred thousand would be plenty

 

[steveark]

How much?

Because you are smart and focused you can get by with zero. Of course a few hundred thou wood be nice but you wouldn't spend it. I think you are golden friend.

 

[foxfirev5]

SWAG - I would guess somewhere between 100k and 2.5mil. My DM at 87 has barely the former number and is not concerned. Personally at age 60 I pretty much feel the die have been cast. If I have enough, fine. If some catastrophe hits there's not much more I can do.
I am really beginning to realize the nonmonetary things are what's important. Health and happiness are paramount in addition to that good slug of cash.

 

[Palmtree]

Due to human nature, I don't think there is a safe number that can easily be reached. It moves up as you do. Most people start with "if I have X,Y, and Z covered then I could retire." Then when they have X,Y and Z covered they are happy for a while. Then they start playing the what if game. "What if the market crashes? What if there is global warming? What if there is a nuclear winter? etc. Short of having multi-millions and an island to escape to, there is always something to keep you from feeling like you are untouchable from global events and 100% safe. Even the uber wealthy worry about something. In the long run you have to settle for safe enough and go with it.

 

[aaronc879]

At age 80? I would feel comfortable with just SS. Maybe an extra $100,000. I think there is less than a 50-50 chance of even living to that age for me. If I still have multiple hundreds of thousands left then I worked longer than I needed to.

 

[Lsbcal]

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

No right or wrong answer. Just curious.

The only answer that means anything to you is your current net liquid net worth i.e. the reality you must live with.

There is no way I can put myself into your shoes with your health, your goals, your total situation. Best of luck.

 

[SJ1_]

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.d

I know a guy who retired with zero in the bank at 63 years old.

he lived on $1,200 per month
pension and ssn were $3200 per month.

 

[RobbieB]

100 billion.

A castle with a moat filled with piranha. Armed guards with fully automatic weapons and dogs. Video (visable and infrared) cameras. A paid off police force. A fully armored military HumVee to travel in.

 

[LARS]

At 80, assuming I did not have a good long term care insurance coverage, I'd probably want to have enough "cash" to cover 5 to 7 years for wife and myself.

So I would like to have $120,000 (conservative cost of AL care for two per year) minus SS times 7. So if SS is $50,000 for the year, I would want around $500,000 to $700,000.

 

[Chuckanut]

Given the conditions you mentioned, I would say about $667,000 will do. If it is non taxable such as in a Roth IRA then $500,000.

 

[Fedup]

I think between $2-$5 million.

 

[RobbieB]

I know it was a sorta "jokey post"

I never want to feel safe. I want to have fun!

If I wanted to feel "safe" I wouldn't own 4 motorcycles.

 

[Rustic23]

For us it is $201,000 ok maybe less, your guidelines make me count the house.. SS two gov pensions cola'd, two private not cola'd. From an accounting point view, these don't count to net worth. Yet, they cover more than twice our monthly expenses.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

I think I would still like to have about $1m to hedge all sorts of personal medical situations.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

I will still get you....lol

 

[rodi]

MIL is 90 and has the proceeds from her home sale. After SS she's burning about $4k/month for her memory care/assisted living. She's good for another few years. And at 90, she'll likely leave an inheritance (in other words - not outlast her money). If not... well, medicaid will kick in.

I guess it all depends on how much you spend above SS. I know you're in a CCRC - but I'm unclear on the financials of what happens when you or your wife can't live independently... do you both move to the next level of care, and the house gets turned over for sale?

 

[bbbamI]

Hmmmm...age 80, huh? I'll get there (maybe) in 21 years. When/if I do, I'll let ya know...stay tuned.

 

[NW-Bound]

Hmmmm...age 80, huh? I'll get there (maybe) in 21 years. When/if I do, I'll let ya know...stay tuned.

Sure. I will tune in if I am still around. And if I remember.

 

[Sunset]

I really don't know.

However I do know some older folks who sometimes needed to spend quite a bit for health care even on medicare, so they were glad to have available a stash. Each time it was about $10K -> $20K.

Then there is the time of needing to get a another car, which costs quite a few thousand...
The ongoing prescription even with insurance (which is not cheap) costs $1,300 per year.

It's the unknown, unpredictable events that throw a person off.