Poll: Retirees, how adequate is your retirement income?

[W2R]

This seems to be "create a poll day", so I thought I'd make one also. This poll is for retirees only.

This time YOU get to decide what to include in your income. SS? Pension? Investments? Cash? Inheritance? House? Rentals? I don't care. You decide.

All I want to know, is how you feel about it. Maybe your present retirement income isn't much but overall it's a lot because you don't have SS yet; then I'd suggest responding based on your overall feeling that it's a lot. But really, it's up to you because this time you get to pick.

The objective of this poll is FUN. It's a light-hearted poll, not intended to have deep meaning or import. I doubt anyone needs a definition of FUN, but if you do then you need to get out more.

 

[harley]

I chose "more than I can spend". However, I need to qualify that because I'm not sure it's more than DW can spend. But I'm hoping.

Also, I'm not quite positive about the use of the word "income". I see income as the money that comes in automatically, like pensions and dividends and such, and not from liquidating investments. But that's me. Based on that definition, my retirement income is actually about half of what I need, and the rest comes from my investments. When we start SS and RMDs our income will be more than we need, and our remaining investments will (hopefully) grow to be left to our progeny and charity.

 

[HFWR]

So far so good...

 

[W2R]

I chose "more than I can spend". However, I need to qualify that because I'm not sure it's more than DW can spend. But I'm hoping.

Believe me, I understand! My ex loved spending money, too. Keep the faith and maybe she'll decide it's more than she can spend.

Also, I'm not quite positive about the use of the word "income". I see income as the money that comes in automatically, like pensions and dividends and such, and not from liquidating investments. But that's me.

That's exactly the right way to do it. For this poll, fun is the most important factor and YOU get to decide what income is, for you.

Based on that definition, my retirement income is actually about half of what I need, and the rest comes from my investments. When we start SS and RMDs our income will be more than we need, and our remaining investments will (hopefully) grow to be left to our progeny and charity.

Sounds great! Thanks for participating.

 

[W2R]

So far so good...

Super! I figure that it's always possible for an asteroid to demolish the earth tomorrow anyway, so there's a lot to be said for "so far so good".

 

[tmm99]

I voted for "I have a lot more than I can spend", but it's more like "I have a lot more than I am willing to spend". For now since this is my first year, I am willing to spend about 50-60% of what FireCalc and other planners say I could. (My high end projection for this year is less than 50% due to the strong USD against CAD.) Believe me, I would like to spend more than I am spending right now, but I am being cautious. In a few years, once I get a hang of this, and if it all looks good, I will be spending more.

W2R, I love those polls!! Thanks for setting it up.

 

[RobbieB]

I'm doing good, better than I thought I would. My retirement income is larger than what I made working as I'm not saving and maxing out 401's. I can live nicely on SS and the interest and dividends from investments.

I literally have to force myself to "blow some dough" as otherwise I would still be stacking cash. All that past frugality is tough to overcome. But I'm working on it. Losing my wife to cancer at age 60 was tough and that sort of gave me the push to have "more fun" as you might end up with a short stick and the goal is to die broke -

 

[Midpack]

We supposedly have (way) more than enough, but only 5 years in with another 30+ to go, I wouldn't presume to really know, so I voted "a little more." All we can do us plan as best we can, have a plan B, C, D --- and enjoy/live life in the present. That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

 

[Walt34]

We have a bit more than we can spend, just yesterday I was looking at R/C cars online thinking about buying one. Then I decided I'd probably play with it for a week and then it would be a dust collector so I set that idea aside. And I've been pondering a new camera, so I'll probably buy that this year.

Neither one of us is big spenders on stuff, going out, or travel so it doesn't take all that much to keep us comfortable.

 

[W2R]

I voted for "I have a lot more than I can spend", but it's more like "I have a lot more than I am willing to spend". For now since this is my first year, I am willing to spend about 50-60% of what FireCalc and other planners say I could. (My high end projection for this year is less than 50% due to the strong USD against CAD.) Believe me, I would like to spend more than I am spending right now, but I am being cautious. In a few years, once I get a hang of this, and if it all looks good, I will be spending more.

W2R, I love those polls!! Thanks for setting it up.

It's easier to loosen the purse strings after a few years, or at least it was for me. And thanks, I love polls too.

I'm doing good, better than I thought I would. My retirement income is larger than what I made working as I'm not saving and maxing out 401's. I can live nicely on SS and the interest and dividends from investments.

I literally have to force myself to "blow some dough" as otherwise I would still be stacking cash. All that past frugality is tough to overcome. But I'm working on it. Losing my wife to cancer at age 60 was tough and that sort of gave me the push to have "more fun" as you might end up with a short stick and the goal is to die broke -

I'm working on overcoming past frugality, too. Travel is a good way to blow a lot of money, but I don't like to travel. However I did find out last summer that moving can be frightfully expensive (and fun!). So I'd suggest moving if you really want to blow some dough.

We supposedly have (way) more than enough, but only 5 years in with another 30+ to go, I wouldn't presume to really know, so I voted "a little more." All we can do us plan as best we can, have a plan B, C, D --- and enjoy/live life in the present. That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

You did it right. Yes, planning is all we can do since we can't predict the future. And, your answer provided your overall feeling about your retirement income so that is perfect.

We have a bit more than we can spend, just yesterday I was looking at R/C cars online thinking about buying one. Then I decided I'd probably play with it for a week and then it would be a dust collector so I set that idea aside. And I've been pondering a new camera, so I'll probably buy that this year.

Neither one of us is big spenders on stuff, going out, or travel so it doesn't take all that much to keep us comfortable.

I know what you mean! Me, either. I don't want anything else that will just sit and collect dust. Value for the dollar is important to me. I discovered that moving from one home to another sure cost me a lot last year. I got a lot of value from it, but gee, I'm glad I don't have to absorb that cost every year.

 

[Rambler]

Like tmm99, we have a lot more than we are willing to spend...for now. 3 years in, hopefully a lot more to go. Last year we "invested" in a motorhome, and built a shop to house it when we aren't using it, and built a poolhouse...but the motorhome and shop were in exchange for a house we sold the prior year, that was just sitting there unused. We also had a lot of concrete work done, so we may have spent two normal years worth of expenses in total, besides the motorhome and shop. So, we are being extra careful this year. We've actually found that we spend less when traveling in the motorhome than we do when we are home...there are just so many nagging projects that need to be done. So we'll be taking her out a lot this spring, summer and early autumn...so we don't overspend at home.

 

[tmm99]

Like tmm99, we have a lot more than we are willing to spend...for now. 3 years in, hopefully a lot more to go. Last year we "invested" in a motorhome, and built a shop to house it when we aren't using it, and built a poolhouse...but the motorhome and shop were in exchange for a house we sold the prior year, that was just sitting there unused. We also had a lot of concrete work done, so we may have spent two normal years worth of expenses in total, besides the motorhome and shop. So, we are being extra careful this year. We've actually found that we spend less when traveling in the motorhome than we do when we are home...there are just so many nagging projects that need to be done. So we'll be taking her out a lot this spring, summer and early autumn...so we don't overspend at home.

HOLY COW!! Rambler!! Nice to see you!!

 

[Slow But Steady]

It's a comfort to see several others whose plans say they should have plenty, but who are being cautious for now.

That's exactly the way I feel. My wife retired two years ago, and I'll be retiring in about 2 months. I hope we can get by on 60% of what the plan says we can spend, at least for a few years.

 

[Slow But Steady]

I'm working on overcoming past frugality, too. Travel is a good way to blow a lot of money, but I don't like to travel. However I did find out last summer that moving can be frightfully expensive (and fun!). So I'd suggest moving if you really want to blow some dough.

You can also get a big stack of hundred dollar bills, and light it on fire. The flames are almost hypnotically entrancing, and you can also toast some marshmallows.

Delicious! And much more fun than moving, in my humble opinion.

 

[Trawler]

Thanks for the poll as I thought I was the only one that is spending much less than I can because I just have not been willing to. We do not have a regular monthly income yet just only our annual WD. I think it is a combination of transitioning from accumulation of net worth to drawing on net worth and believing our plan actually does work is the barrier. Yes all the calculators and planners say we could spend more. So I have been working on the psychological end and building up confidence to spend more as we would like to so for more travel. Just put together a new detailed ten year draw plan to help. Also started to say to myself it is no longer about net worth it is about maximizing income and enjoy cause you only have one shot at life go ahead and live it up. So this year we will take more out and we shall see if we spend it. We did book a trip to Europe so that should help.

 

[RobbieB]

I'm going to blow some serious dough on re-doing the whole house. Paint all the walls and replace all the flooring with really good stuff. So I'll never have to do it again.

The paint and the floors are as old as the house, 30 years. No plans to move, it's a nice house in a good location with a view that will never change due to development.

 

[MichaelB]

Interesting poll question, really about perception. I voted "a lot more". Our portfolio withdraw rate is around 3.7% this year. Some might consider that high, but we spend a fair amount and could cut back without a serious sacrifice. My guess is the odds of a sizable inheritance to the undeserving offspring are greater than the odds of us having to mooch off them.

 

[Midpack]

HOLY COW!! Rambler!! Nice to see you!!

+1!

 

[FUEGO]

I wish there was an option for "a little more than a little more than enough to spend".

We are sitting pretty right now. I started a little side hustle after I retired and it's ballooned into a decent money generator that covers most of our bills. If things continue, we won't need to sell any investments, just harvest the dividends from our taxable brokerage account each year (taxable brokerage = 25% of total investments).

Our spending adds up to a 2.3% withdrawal rate (not including my side hustle income) so we are in the "a little more than enough" camp disregarding the side hustle income. Something like the ACA being repealed (with no replacement) and my side hustle income drying up would put us in the "just enough" club.

 

[aja8888]

Our withdrawal rate is fixed by SS income and RMD pulls annually. It's a little more than we NEED to spend. But having NEEDY adult children and a granddaughter in college, we manage to spend it all and then some. The "then some" comes from a taxable account buffer I manage at Ally Bank. I have to keep an eye on that account as DW has a propensity to spend.

We are a blended family and having children and grandchildren on both sides makes it complicated. Also, the older children (DW's three) have all divorced in the last 5 years and ended up with new SO's or DW's. This brings in a whole new dimension at holiday gatherings which are typically at our house. It's almost if we need name tags! It's all good though!

Bottom line is it's a challenge to keep spending on an even keel and within the limits of the income constraints. I constantly look at our budget and try to predict spending but I have no crystal ball. I show the big spreadsheet to DW every so often (typically after we had a large unexpected spending incident) and she nods her head and says "keep up the good work" or some other saying to pacify me.

 

[travelover]

I'm still saving part of my pension checks, have not started SS yet and have not spent a dime of my portfolio. Man, am I gonna pay taxes on my RMDs.

 

[old woman]

I have a lot more than I will spend and already am a philanthropist in some ways. I am 68 on SS as my only income, it isn't enough but I have investments so with taxable dividends break even almost. I can draw down ROTH and IRA if I want to and they are growing. When I turn 70 my SS will be enough with dividends so my nest egg isn't needed. RMD will give me more than I can spend. If I drew down investments 2% I would be well off.

 

[Dawg52]

When SS kicks in I will have a good bit more in income than what I spend. As of the moment.......it's pretty close.

 

[SecondCor521]

Almost 47 and at a 3.12% WR, willing to go up to ~3.5%. Voted "a little more" than I need.

 

[MRG]

Great poll.

After three years it's a little more comfortable not having a seemingly endless supply of fresh money. We're about 3.25% WR but I'm at least 6 years away from SS. That should cover 40% of our drawdown.

We may move to a different state and that may be costly. We've been looking for a while and haven't found the right place yet.