They just did a news story that most Americans can't afford to retire and that most seniors are living on $37,000 dollars a year. I can imagine that a majority of seniors can't afford to retire but on $37,000 a year? I mean $37,000 a year is not a lot but it's enough to live on if you live in a state that isn't expensive like the south. Living up north can be ridiculously expensive.
The cost of living is higher in some states than others because of taxes and heating bills. The rent where I live is very high and winters and summers can make the utilities high. One big concern is not being about to retire but running out of money when you can not longer work.
My mother retired over a year ago and she isn't living off of $37,000.00 a year. Between her pension and SSI she receives a little over $2,000.00 a month. Both her and my father were not able to save for retirement. My father was terminally ill for several years due to Stage 4 Lung Cancer and that took a majority of their money. My father couldn't work anymore and their income was cut in half. I'm sure that someone could live off of $37,000 a year, but it would probably depend on where they resided. My mother lives in a small town an hour from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is much cheaper to live in a rural area than a major city.
I have heard stories about people approaching retirement age, but will not be able to retire. Many 401Ks took a hit when the economy went bad and the bankers, etc got away with robbery. $37K isn't too bad to retire on even in California. That's assuming that the mortgage and other major items are paid for. It really doesn't depend on personal circumstances and where you live.
A person could retire on $37,000 a year in Florida if they didn't live by the water, or live in one of the posh neighborhoods. There are a few moderately priced areas where a lot of old people live.
Once someone retires there's no need for them to live in high cost cities/towns. Move out, find a cheaper place to live in, stay in contact with your family on social media. I suppose the reason why most people were unwilling to live elsewhere was because they wanted to be close to their progeny. With video chat you could see them every day if you wanted to. There are lots of places where you could live decently on $20,000.
I'm still 7 years away from the forced retirement age but honestly I cannot just retire for now even if I have a retirement pay from our company. The cost of money is high and the value of money drastically goes down. So the money I would get now will definitely depreciate in value 2 years from now and leave me with nothing for my old age. That means retirement is not an option for now.
As a large majority of seniors around the world are living a modest but comfortable lifestyle on way less than that and some are having to try and survive on less than $1000 a month - $37,000 a year sounds like a reasonable amount - especially as there are many countries where that amount - would almost guarantee a luxurious lifestyle. However that said - as the main concern for many - is whether they would outlive their retirement funds and they would therefore be looking at the overall the lump sum - to make sure that it would provide enough of an income to support them for at least the next 25 years - rather than assuming that they would spend the rest of their days living on an income of $37,000 a year - especially now that life expectancy is way longer than it used to be just a few decades ago - I think it quite likely that many may feel that they can't afford to retire - particularly as - the original yearly figure of $37,000 may need to be adjusted quite dramatically in order to make the funds last.
$37,000 tax-free is not bad at all. Considering that people who make $60-70,000 a year are probably getting about $37,000 to live on after taxes. Making 60-70 grand per year is considered pretty good yet. I was just thinking today that the retirement age used to be when people reached their 50s (I think). But they keep raising the age and raising it again and it won't be long until a person is 80 before they get their money. All thanks to the government mismanagement of the money of the American taxpayer.
Yes, I can believe it. I don't expect to ever be really retired. However, some ways of making money are not all that difficult or stressful so I don't care. Being as social security may be something we can't rely on in our old age, I think most of us will be working far longer than we anticipated.
My expectation is that I will not retire. This isn't because I can't, but because, to be honest, I would prefer to live life now as well as then. I'm not expecting safety nets to take care of me, nor am I worried that I will have enough money. I guess it boils down to the idea that I just don't want the boredom of having nothing scheduled.
I would have no problem living on that. Then there's my mother who gave her life to the school system and will be getting just enough to rent out a small apartment. If she's lucky. Seniors aren't the future and our governments are self serving.. good luck to them.. and all of us
It would be good if Americans try to invest some of their retirement money on business ventures that, though small, will help them earn passive income for a long time. For instance, if they have uninhabited properties, they could put it up for rent. That's already passive income. Or, they could buy a franchise stall from a famous doughnut or french fries brand. Just because you've retired that doesn't mean you should stop earning money.
