Did Anyone Retire with "Only" .75M$ Saved?

[SoReadyToRetire]

Now there's a bold question ... I just had to ask. That's how much we have in our IRAs right now, and I am itching to just throw in the towel and say I'm done with my job.

I know there's a LOT more to it than how much you have in your IRAs. But I just wanted to ask--did anyone here take the leap with less than $1M put away?

(Btw, we have no debt, own our home, live below our means, just bought new car (cash) and put tin roof on house/garage ... so we're pretty good outside of the IRAs. I'm just chicken. ) And DH would continue working for awhile to give us health insurance, cuz he's still a baby at 57.

Anybody do it with less than a mill?

 

[Mykle57]

Don't think I could. 4% of $750k is only

 

[Mykle57]

Sorry cat on keyboard...

30k/yr at the max. Can you live on that? And enjoy youself

 

[SumDay]

Are there pensions expected, and would your SS cover your expenses?

 

[Lakewood90712]

Not enough info. Free or subsidized healthcare ? High cost of living location ? Spending habits ? Ya, anyone CAN retire on 750 k or less, if the lifestyle of " Possum Living " suits you.

("Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money" by Dolly Freed)

Or get a cheap boat and " Anchor Out " in Sausalito

 

[joeea]

But I just wanted to ask--did anyone here take the leap with less than $1M put away?

Not me. But it's just math. Planning for retirement depends on income, assets and expenses.

If you can get by with less than $1M that's great.

 

[corn18]

My mom retired on $1500 / mo social security and $30k in the bank. And she seems very happy.

 

[Nemo2]

Last day of work Dec 28, 1988.....no company pension...had $500K Canadian.....4 times that now. We're not wealthy, but we get by.....travel once in a while.

 

[COZICAN]

I could make it work. But our expenses are low (below 5K monthly) and we will draw SSI 80% of that at 67. Plan to RE at 59.5 (20 months out).

 

[sergio]

I know an expat in China who got cleaned out in his late 50s during a divorce. Was left with something like $500k in liquid assets after 35 years of work and savings. Met his second wife (a Chinese gal) a year or two later, took SS at 62, and moved back to China with her. They live like kings on $2-3k/month and apparently between his SS and her income, he hasn't needed to tap into his $500k savings yet.

 

[Andre1969]

Like others have mentioned, there's not enough info. How much of a pension/SS either or both of you will get will make a big difference. Also, how much income your husband brings in, and when he ultimately decides to retire.

FWIW, everyone in my family who has come before me, and retired, has done it on less than $1M. In many cases, much less. But, they tended to have decent money coming in from pensions/SS. Or, for the less moneyed ones, they had family members who helped them out.

Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable retiring with $1M or less, but everybody's situation is different. In my case, I'm 49, single, just bought a house with a $2600/mo mortgage. I won't get a pension when I retire, and if I take SS at 62, I estimate it'll only be around $1400/mo, in today's dollars.

I honestly don't know what amount I'd have to have saved up, for me to feel comfortable. It seems to go up, the older I get! Last year, before I bought the new house, I had gotten up to around $1.96M, and no mortgage, and was starting to feel pretty comfortable. And, if I managed to get up to $3M, I have a feeling I'd pull the plug immediately, regardless of the mortgage! So, I guess my magic number is somewhere between $2 and $3M.

 

[ncbill]

Close relative (skilled blue-collar) retired in his early 50s, ~25 years ago with closer to $75,000.

Most importantly they had a paid-off home, a modest but COLA pension plus nearly free retiree healthcare.

 

[Amethyst]

You have a new roof and a new car now, but are you able to put aside enough to pay for repairs and replacements as they inevitably crop up? Paying for them would eat seriously into your seed corn.

 

[jimnjana]

We did. But have pensions. Spending about 90% of what comes in. About half of what we put aside is invested the rest will be spent on major purchases.

 

[brucethebroker]

The LCOL area question is a very good one. Having no debt and free/clear house is really important too.

You would be surprised how many here are happy on LESS than 750k invest able assets. We had a discussion on that topic at least once before.

SS, small pension, PT hobby business, extreme frugal ism-lots of ways to make it work. Or even if you have the option of future PT work (say substitute teaching or consulting if you HAD to) that would allow you to go for it and keep "an ace in the hole".

Many here have discovered their expenses go down once retired. Perhaps yours will too. Go for it!

 

[brucethebroker]

I honestly don't know what amount I'd have to have saved up, for me to feel comfortable. It seems to go up, the older I get!

For some of us, the number ( went down, the older we got and the fuller the BS bucket got!

 

[Dtail]

Put all your numbers including SS in Firecalc and see what it gives you.
We retired with under 2m but wouldn't and couldn't with under 1m, but one is already collecting SSDI, plus have some additional income sources the first few years.

 

[NW-Bound]

It is noted that 4% of $750K is only $30K/year, but the OP mentioned several favorable factors, such as

1) her younger husband is 57 already, so she is older and closer to SS age,
2) the husband still works for a while, and that provides health insurance for both,
3) they are frugal and have no debt.

And of course health insurance is the item of most concern if the husband wants to throw in the towel also, but can they count on ACA being here till they reach 65?

Other than that, I think they can do it, even though most people here retire with much more.

 

[street]

I can tell you, many have retired with less then 1M. I know of many older people with less and have done just fine. SS will help a bunch and if you aren't going live a life traveling around the world and spending money like there is no tomorrow I would say you will do just fine.

 

[Scout]

I doubt we could. Healthcare premiums alone are almost 20k for just the two of us (Mid 40’s), although income would be low enough in that situation to qualify for Medicaid. However, once the bs bucket gets full enough anything’s possible. There are times at work I’d be willing to give up eating out and the occasional trip to get outta that mess. If u think/know you can live on 30k give it a shot!

 

[ERD50]

...
Anybody do it with less than a mill?

Why ask? Really, it makes absolutely no difference to you if somebody else did it. The only thing that matters to you is, can you do it, and support whatever lifestyle you need to be happy.

Everyone's circumstance/situation is different. As has been mentioned, a clear look at $$$ you need to be happy, and all assets/income/pension/SS entered into FIRECalc will tell you more than "somebody" else's experience.

-ERD50

 

[IrishMoss]

Determine your expenses per year on average and add in additional as a buffer. Then divide that yearly expense number by the safe withdrawal rate wanted. Most people use 4%. That tells you the total nest egg you need to be able to retire and meet yearly expenses.

Take that big nest egg number and subtract from that expected total pension and subtract total expected social security.

What's left is the portion that you must come up with. You might be just fine contributing $750K to the pot as long as the rest of whatever you need is there from other sources like a pension and/or social security benefits.

 

[Souschef]

I did, but I was an LR.. Collected SS at 65, retired at 70 with about $750K.
BUT, with both our SS and pensions, our income was about $72 K without touching principal.
FF to 2019, and our NW is > $2 M

 

[Red Badger]

We did. But we have a couple of modest pensions (with survivability) and very good healthcare. With that, and SS around the corner, our retirement is comfy for us.

That said, amounts to nothing... As others have called out, what do you SPEND? Once you can answer that with clarity/certainty, well; "you'll just know."

 

[gstillson]

We retired with $600k but through some probably risky investing the past three years we are now at $975k, and that is after spending ~45k a year. Hope to be at $1.5m in a couple more years.