Suzie says you need 5 mil to RE

[ApatheticNoMore]

If one has a pension they need to calculate how much they would have need to have saved to not have one and have the same amount of money if we are working on dollar figures to compare to people without one.

But most people will retire if they don't die earlier than that, most people won't have 5 million, it may not be early but rather not a day before (at least early) collection of SS kicks in, or the day that one really truly can't ever get hired again or is too sick to work again. But ... it will happen, one can just try to be as prepared as possible.

[Rogar]

I was in a friendly discussion recently about whether seniors should get a discount on fishing licenses and state and national parks passes, all of which we get in my state. The issue being that seniors could afford these things and should pay the same share as others.

A figure I looked up from the social security administration said that 45% of single seniors and 20 % of married seniors get 90% or more of their income from social security. And one of their polls said 35% of near retirees thought 90% or more of their retirement income would come from social security. That's a far cry from $5 million in savings and is probably cutting the bean a little thin, but it is how a lot of people are getting by. I suppose if you take early retirement before social security, FIRE is a more significant consideration.

[Teacher Terry]

Also many people don’t retire by choice. They do so because they cannot find work or too sick to work. Others have to care for a sick spouse. These are also reasons people take it early. My husband lost 600/month on his pension because he had to take it 6 years early. We are grateful that he was able to do so. Many don’t have that option.

[bicyclist]

The best advice is to seek what gives one the greatest satisfaction, not the greatest assets! I am glad Suzie is squeaking by on $5 million but the previous writers are correct that only a fortunate few are going to accumulate that much. Fortunately, the majority can have a perfectly good quality of life on far less. Dave (Bicyclist)

[LDAHL]

In fairness to Suze, she was talking about stopping work in your early thirties and needing to weather sixty or seventy years of market caprice and inflationary rot while maintaining a secure and solidly middle class lifestyle. I could see how that would be expensive.

Sure, you can live more cheaply or take on side hustles, but that’s not the argument she was trying to make.

[catherine]

In fairness to Suze, she was talking about stopping work in your early thirties and needing to weather sixty or seventy years of market caprice and inflationary rot while maintaining a secure and solidly middle class lifestyle. I could see how that would be expensive.

Sure, you can live more cheaply or take on side hustles, but that’s not the argument she was trying to make.

Tell me if I'm wrong, but if you can withdraw the widely-touted conservative 4%/year from a portfolio of $5M, that's $200,000. And the market ups and downs should even themselves out. I still think she has a wildly distorted perspective of the concept of FIRE.

[Tybee]

Good point, Catherine. With this latest, Suze seems to have lost touch with financial reality. It's like the line in the Great Gatsby--"Well he's no use to us if Detroit is his idea of a small town."

[LDAHL]

Tell me if I'm wrong, but if you can withdraw the widely-touted conservative 4%/year from a portfolio of $5M, that's $200,000. And the market ups and downs should even themselves out. I still think she has a wildly distorted perspective of the concept of FIRE.

The much-referenced, often misunderstood 4% rule was aimed at a relatively “safe” risk level over thirty years. It was never intended to cover the length of time a retirement in one’s early thirties would involve. Two or three percent would probably be more realistic for twice that long. And in many parts of the country $100,000 - $200,000 isn’t all that outrageous for a family income, especially if you have no employer provided benefits like health insurance.

For the scenario she was talking about, I don’t think she was all that far off. I know many people live on less, but they are probably not retiring after a ten year career either.

[Teacher Terry]

I think some of the young people on MM that retired with only between 500-1 million are taking too big a risk. They are constraining themselves to a tight budget forever. Plus they will end up with outdated skills and may end up in crappy jobs if they do need to return to work.

[LDAHL]

I think some of the young people on MM that retired with only between 500-1 million are taking too big a risk. They are constraining themselves to a tight budget forever. Plus they will end up with outdated skills and may end up in crappy jobs if they do need to return to work.

Let no man call himself wise until he has survived two or three bear markets.