Target Retirement Month

[Andre1969]

Those early years get indexed.

One poster I read (either here or over on bogleheads forums) stated his high-school earnings had been indexed almost 6x!

I just looked it up out of curiosity. My first year of SS earnings was 1986, when I earned a whopping $1,637. But the multiplication factor is 3.497, so adjusted that's like $5,725.

The SS indexing is apparently more generous than inflation. I just put $1,637 into an inflation calculator, and it came up with $4,531, or a 2.768 factor. So, as much as SS gets criticized, I guess it has that going for it!

My Mom bought a new Monte Carlo in 1986, at the end of the model year. It was around $14-15K out the door. Adjusting for inflation, that's like $38-41.5K, out the door! Using SS indexing, it would be more like $49-52K!

It's funny how perspective changes, though. I was only 16 when she bought that car, and making $3.75/hr working evenings after school at a veterinary clinic. But still, for that type of car, $14-15K didn't seem like a lot of money to me. But then it blows my mind to think that, inflation-adjusted, that was like blowing $40K or more. For a car with hubcaps and crank windows.

 

[big-papa]

I just looked it up out of curiosity. My first year of SS earnings was 1986, when I earned a whopping $1,637. But the multiplication factor is 3.497, so adjusted that's like $5,725.

The SS indexing is apparently more generous than inflation. I just put $1,637 into an inflation calculator, and it came up with $4,531, or a 2.768 factor. So, as much as SS gets criticized, I guess it has that going for it!

My Mom bought a new Monte Carlo in 1986, at the end of the model year. It was around $14-15K out the door. Adjusting for inflation, that's like $38-41.5K, out the door! Using SS indexing, it would be more like $49-52K!

It's funny how perspective changes, though. I was only 16 when she bought that car, and making $3.75/hr working evenings after school at a veterinary clinic. But still, for that type of car, $14-15K didn't seem like a lot of money to me. But then it blows my mind to think that, inflation-adjusted, that was like blowing $40K or more. For a car with hubcaps and crank windows.

One thing that's different is that SS uses CPI-W for inflation adjustments which is different than CPI-U which most inflation calculators use.

 

[Surewhitey]

First time we took off traveling, leaving on Labor day, driving north to Mammoth lakes and Yellowstone & then across country ending with the drive to Mexico. We relocated to TX technically to start DW's deferred comp of 5 years for tax purposes. This also got 1 more year of bonus & profit sharing.

Next time it'll be likely based on RSU's, profit sharing & bonuses in April... Still waiting for the right year...