One of the most asked questions from our new clients is “How much wealth do I need to last my lifetime?” The obvious answer is “depends.” To help you quantify your needed savings for lifetime income, we will provide you three areas of life that must master to live the life you choose.
First, you must become a saver, not continue as a consumer. The highest savings rate in U.S. history was reached during the pandemic. Not surprising as most people did not feel safe shopping at local stores and malls but rather ordered online. Granted the online experience for shopping has improved exponentially, it is still not the experience most shoppers seek when a day is planned for the exchange of goods and currency (that is the phrase I use when my wife and daughters go shopping).
The savings rate for U.S. citizens in 2021 was a whopping 13.7% (www.statista.com)! This level of savings exceeds the 11% experienced in 1960. Is it enough to meet the demands of rising costs of living for most people? Perhaps if this savings trend were to continue for a period of 40 years representing the work life of most people, their post-career years would be sufficiently funded.
To bring another statistic into this discussion, the total savings of U.S. citizen in 2021 exceeded $2.3 trillion. This is a staggering amount of money considering the U.S. Government has distributed $4 trillion dollars during the pandemic. The average balance maintained in the 401(k) plan of a 65 years of age and older person is $216,720 according to www.personalcapital.com.
If you seek a lifetime of income, in the realm of reasonable support, it is important that you become a saver on a consistent basis to allow the compounding of investments to perform over a significant period of time.
Second, you must determine what happiness is for you in life. One of our clients was an older woman whose husband predeceased her while she was in her career. Her position was mostly clerical, and she enjoyed her work. During her career, she had the opportunity to invest in the company’s stock through a plan where the employer matched her contributions to buy the stock. The highest salary she earned during her career was $51,000, which was two years before her retirement from the company. Granted she worked for a good company and was fortunate to begin her career with the company while it was a fledgling start up organization.
At the age of 66 and 4 months, coincidentally her full retirement age for Social Security Benefits, we assisted her in filing for her benefits and prepared her for retirement. When we opened the most recent envelope containing her statement from the employee stock ownership plan, she could not help but grin at my expression. Her stock value was $1.5 million! She also was prudent and saved money through her employee retirement plan. The sum of this account exceeded $700,000. She looked at me and asked, “Is this enough for me to retire and keep my lifestyle?” Of course, we needed to perform our analysis and testing but offered her some probabilities that she would be simply fine in retirement.
The moral of the story is that time, once again, is the greatest impact on lifetime savings. Start early, be consistent with contributions and treat the account as your next income stream by never borrowing from the account for current lifestyle needs. Happiness for her was continuing to live in her home, travel to worldly destinations and help her grandchildren with college expenses. She, by thoughtfully planning, is still doing all the things that make her most happy in life.
Lastly, you must protect your health as you prepare for an active retirement. My father was one of those people that worked hard all his life and genuinely enjoyed his career. He suffered a heart attack in his early 40’s that opened his eyes to better care for himself so his future would be enjoyable. After finally retiring at 72 years of age, he has lived a wonderful life in retirement. He is reasonably healthy, has enjoyed cruises to Alaska and continues to do whatever he chooses to keep a smile on his face.
His father, my grandfather, died in his early 60’s. I always told dad that he would need to take advantage of the opportunities to maintain his health so that he could break the average mortality for males in our family. He smiled that sheepish grin and said, “I am setting a new bar for the Williams men!”
Exercise regularly, save consistently and find your happiness in life. By preparing prudently today, your tomorrows will be most enjoyable!
