comment: >
  
  Why is this so unbelievable? If you do the numbers 1.25M invested week get you like 40-50k in dividends yearly. 40-50k is not great, but it's a comfortable living
context: I’m right on track to shooting myself behind my woodshed after eating my last can of dog food. >
  
  Back in my day we’d be happy eating leaves and dirt. No shed. Just a random pile of irregular pieces of wood. Dog food was for thanksgiving and Christmas. >
  
  Back in my day, we were so poor...
  When there was no meat, we ate fowl.
  When there was no fowl, we at crawdad.
  When there was crawdad to be found, we ate sand. >
  
  You ate what? >
  
  We ate sand. >
  
  It's coarse, gets everywhere. >
  
  It is full coarse of a meal. >
  
  Well, I can cross that one off my bucket list. And to think I was actually happy for surpassing the $70K mark (gross pay) for the first time in my life. (I'm 58) >
  
  I’m 40, got no partner, got no dependants and a I got shit ton of debt.. if I die tomorrow I win. >
  
  He who dies with the most debt wins...an interesting approach. Ngl, has it's appeal. >
  
  Rack up hella debt, hop to another country, repeat. >
  
  You need enough money to do that. Debt will shut those doors. >
  
  Hmmmmm didn't think about that 
  Just go be a monk or something then lol >
  
  That means you'll be working for a church/temple that will take all your money and will reward you with the bare minimum that keeps you working. Basically indistinguishable from slavery. >
  
  A Buddhist one would be sick though. Like where they eat sap and slowly mummify themselves. A good last resort if you ask me >
  
  You can try that right now to get a taste of what you'll be signing up for. >
  
  Look at this fatcat, able to afford eatin' sap!! >
  
  Weren't they just saying that economists say millennials need $3 million to retire? >
  
  $3m will probably be worth what $1m is worth today, when millennials retire. >
  
  Millennials will get to retire?! >
  
  Some of us, yeah. >
  
  There are tens of us! 
  I assume, I’m definitely not one of them >
  
  I started working at 15, I'm 33 now. I have no debt, but I have no money either. >
  
  Have you thought about getting a job that pays more than just the minimum? >
  
  I'm never going to retire. Yay! >
  
  Don't worry, eventually birth rates will decline worse than they are now if things don't change due to socio economic pressures and if not for automated jobs then the workforce will be valuable again. Then retire when unemployment bounces back again. Something like what happened after the black plague wiped out a portion of England's population. >
  
  They're already on a decline. Have been for about a decade now. I remember as a kid, seeing something about the cries of concern in Asian countries, where the aging were already beginning to outweigh the young, and current (at the time) projected birth rates signaled a problem, when the aged became elderly. Look at Covid, for instance. Lockdown should have led to a Baby Boom. but it didn't. But as long as the old geriatric fucks are still in control, we're fucking fucked. They can pass what they want, one foot in the grave, because they know they won't see the fall out. >
  
  Tell us what you're doing so that the young punks won't say the same to your generation when yours is dying out. >
  
  Me? I can't do shit under current arbitrary laws and morals. I'd love to enact term limits and a maximum age cut-off for government functions, but the votes required for that would sooner start WW3. I weep for the generations below me. Not in the Boomer way, you know, "What disrespectful brats!" but more in the, "Oh you poor babies. You never had a chance. Hopefully when the Earth dies, we're all in the first wave." >
  
  Of course you. So your plan is to tell them "My elders wouldn't let me do shit for you!" How do you think they will respond? >
  
  Again, what part of laws and current moral status not to comprehend? Like there's only so much one person can do, look at Iran or China for example. Then come back to me. All imma say is, our police be WAY too over militarized. Night >
  
  Or the good ol' 9mm Millennial retirement plan. >
  
  Jokes on us, by the time we’re at retirement age the price of 9mm will be $3m and bullets will be 100k a piece on the street. Up front. >
  
  "What can I get for $10?"
  "Buy a bullet, and rent a gun!" >
  
  I'm on the die early plan, so I feel like I'm winning. >
  
  At this point they're probably just going to start killing the elderly.
  We don't even have any kind of national system to deal with elder care. You end up at some quasi public private place, and Medicaid collects your life savings. >
  
  In the US, at least, given the enormous amount of people about to be going into the last years of their lives, there is going to be an unprecedented strain on already strained elderly care services (nursing homes, assisted living, hospitals, home care, etc).   
  I expect there is going to be huge senior care crisis in about a decade.
  And we've already proven we'll barely pay minimum wage for the people that are going to be bathing, feeding, and wiping the asses of the elderly. >
  
  Actually. Dark as it may be, Covid took care of a big chunk of this. >
  
  To some extent, I suppose. I suspect the majority of those were the Silent Generation which would be somewhere between 78 and 95.
  We still have something in the neighborhood of 67 million baby boomers and the majority of them are in the older end of that. >
  
  Yup.  My dad was a younger boomer.  He would have just turned 61.  The oldest, most populous boomers are nearly 80.  Tick tick >
  
  Is that enough for a hospital visit? Because those become more frequent when getting old >
  
  Can someone just take me out back and shoot me old yeller style? I fucking hate it here. >
  
  Don't stress, our life expectancy is plummeting. You won't need to get shot >
  
  So you mean, stress harder, and lower your life expectancy? >
  
  The success to life. >
  
  I had 24 grand squirreled away that's been eroded to 16 thanks to medical bills. My 401k hasn't been touched, but that just hit 20k. Might as well just use it for a down payment since I'm not retiring. >
  
  A house is probably a good financial move, assuming the bubble doesnt pop as soon as inflation get forced down by higher interest rates >
  
  Pulling out a 401k for a down payment is among one of the worst financial decisions you could make. 
  You lose out an insane amount of compound interest. >
  
  If someone really wants exposure to that market they'll be much better off buying RITs, and you can do that tax-free from within your 401k. >
  
  IRS says in order to pull out 80k a year (the poverty survival amount for my city) I will need 2M in retirement funds by the time I retire (67). 
  My financial planner showed me how putting 500/month away until the day I retire will have me hit 1.3M
  That's fuckin brutal. Applying for govt jobs with better retirement packages today. So much for education. >
  
  My sister just retired at 53.  Worked a government job for 22 years, every other Friday off and got paid to work out in the mornings for an hour, 4 and then 5 weeks of vacation a year.  
  I'm a couple of years younger with a law degree from a top 10 school and will be working another 12 years minimum.  
  401Ks are riskier than pensions because there's no guaranteed return.  Absurd pensions for public employees are also why schools are flat out broke in plenty of states, certainly Oregon and California among them. >
  
  Fortunately, the golden parachute retirements are long gone in the public sector, but I personally know people who retired making more than what they did working. It’s insane. My retirement is already pretty great (50% of wages annually for life) and I also get social security, but I feel it’s comparatively very reasonable. >
  
  You may be able to retire in a foreign country. Cost of living can be lower. >
  
  Yes but you are still stuck with having someone care for you and in a foreign country too. >
  
  Does the 1.25 M include equity in a home, or just investments beyond a place to live? >
  
  Generally, the numbers do, sort of.  It's usually assumed that your lifestyle costs will continue in retirement the same as they were pre-retirement.  That means if you had a mortgage, your retirement budget should assume you still will.  If instead you have your house paid off, that part of your wealth is yielding dividends every month in the form of free rent.  
  Or you can downsize your house and get cash out.  Or sell and move into a condo, etc. >
  
  I think everyone under 40 has long given up the pretense of thinking retirement is an option for them.  I doubt Social Security will even still be a thing in 15-20 years, assuming this country can last that long. >
  
  Most of GenX and a significant portion of the later Baby Boomers are going to be in the same boat as well with retirement.
  I'm in my 50s and it's been one shitty economy after another for most of my adult life.  A very significant portion of people under 60 in the US has been wiped out and had to start over at least once.  For some of us, it's been multiple times.  
  I'm kind of interested to see what happens when a very large group of people who may be the last generation to obtain a significant retirement savings start burning through that savings as they require a lot of medical care and probably nursing care into their last years. 
  There was a time when younger family could step in and fill the need, but the younger folks certainly don't have the kind of financial resources or free time to fill that void anymore when so many are just barely hanging on. >
  
  Funny, I'm in the same age category, and most of my life, the stock market has been doing well. I watched my 401k skyrocket under Obama and even Trump and am riding out this downturn. >
  
  Obviously there are going to be winners and losers in all of this. 
  I'm glad you are doing well. >
  
  Kind of sounds like you made bad investments. Beanie babies? Crypto? 
  Index funds have been doing fine, forever. >
  
  1.2m is enough to retire in the middle of butt-fuck-nowhere...maybe. >
  
  Correct.
  If you live near any kind of civilization, you need 2-3 mill just to scrape by in retirement. >
  
  Y’all must be really bad with money. Or expecting to retire for 100 years >
  
  1.25 million over 30 years is only 42K BEFORE TAX.  If you somehow manage to get the average SS check every month, then that adds another 20K, for a total of 62K before tax.  If you are single, then knock off 10K or so for taxes, so 50K/year.
  I live in CA, definitely not enough to live on here.  I could probably manage (barely), because I already own a house with a small mortgage, but that's not true for most people here.
  EDIT: I didn't account for gains made on the 1.25M. If you take 1.25M, assume 5% gains per year and take out 4%/year, you're looking at 42K after tax.  The 20K from SS will be taxed as well, up to 75% of it.  Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is if you retired today, 1.25M in a LCOL area might be OK, but HCOL or VHCOL, not so much. >
  
  You're not taking into account any investments on those 1.25m. You can quite safely double your yearly figure. >
  
  You're right, my bad.  But definitely not double.  If you take 1.25M, assume 5% gains per year and take out 4%/year, you are looking at 42K after tax.  The 20K from SS will be taxed as well, up to 75% of it.  Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is if you retired today, 1.25M in a LCOL area might be OK, but HCOL or VHCOL, not so much. >
  
  5% gains a year gives you $97644 a year assuming a goal of $0 at year 30. 5% gains a year gives you over 60k a year in perpetuity. If you gain 5% a year and take out 4% you have more than you started with. Definitely double. More than double, if 5% is what you're working with, I was being conservative with 4%.
  What taxes and costs of living are added and deducted after this, I leave to you, I am not american so I don't know. All I'm saying is that investments are a huge chunk over 10s of years, often bigger than what's on the table to begin with. >
  
  What you are saying is true, assuming all things being equal, but there will be years when you won't get 5%.  You also have to worry about sequence risk and other factors.
  I am basing my math on a safe withdrawal rate of 4%.  If you take any 30 years from 1871 until 2021, the most you can take out per year and have a 100% success rate over 30 years is 50K.  Any more than that and you risk going broke before the 30 years is up.  Again, this is based on having 1.25M at retirement and making 5% yearly gains.  
  So yes, you CAN take out more if you want, but I am using 100% safe numbers. >
  
  There are years you will be -20% and years you're +50%. That's why we're flat calculating 5% gain. We're talking about an article here and if the numbers presented are reasonable. From my calculations it looks like they are. If you're using 100% safe numbers, maybe you can argue it's not enough. I think going for 100% safe is unreasonable in the context of the entire market history. In reality, you're also not going to be 100% invested, you're going to want to have 3 years or so ready to go if there is a downturn, mitigating what your worst scenario 30-year periods in history tell you. >
  
  This is depressing as hell. >
  
  I'd recommend logging off of reddit. The folks here do not represent the population as a whole and you get a very biased view of how people are actually doing. >
  
  This needed to be said. >
  
  My ideal retirement plan is reenacting the last fight in metal gear solid 4.
  That'd be pretty good. >
  
  In your later years you aren't going to be able to make the crawl through that hallway though. >
  
  What’s “retire “? >
  
  Seems pricy for gun rental and bullet purchase /s >
  
  As much as you're being sarcastic. Buying a gun and bullet and leaving whatever money I have left to my kids seems like the more reasonable retirement plan.
  Edit: thanks reddit bot for the message and being concerned for my health 😅 >
  
  I'm fucked hahaha. Holy shit what a life >
  
  r/antiwork >
  
  Sell everything you have and move to a cheap country in south-east Asia? >
  
  Don't expect them to not prosper too. You may need to pick a hotter continent. >
  
  Spoiler: $1.25M probably isn't enough to get you to 75 if you actually plan on living well on fixed income. $2.5M minimum now. Aren't you glad the Boomers busted unions and let companies focus on profits? Most of our grandparents had pensions. >
  
  1.25M at 65, stuffed into a mattress would give you 125k per year until 75 and more than that if you actually invest it. In almost any area of the country that is more than enough to get by on, even without SS.
  Now, actually out that money into a conservative investment fund and youll be fine. I just pulled up an annuity calculator and your 1.25 mil investment will get you over 8k a month for 30 years. That is above average median household income even without social security. >
  
  Finally some fucking reason on this thread >
  
  Just save $30k per year the minute you turn 18! An entirely reasonable and not-at-all impossible goal. Everyone makes $148k starting salary, right? >
  
  $30k set aside at age 18 is by itself, using historical stock market average rates of return, going to be worth almost $1M around retirement age.  And that's accounting for inflation.  
  Nobody has $30k at that age of course.  But the compounding is really powerful, and that fifth doubling of value you get by being able to save anything in your twenties can go a long way. >
  
  We aint living much longer than the glaciers so fuck retirement >
  
  I live on the coast, and people here can barely drive when it's raining while the sun is out. My Dad has a go plan, if he hears that that huge chunk off Africa collapses, but let's be Honest here. If that goes, we're all going to die in separate cars on that shitty little 2 lane interstate. Yes, you read that right. The main thoroughfare in and out of my area is one fucking narrow ass lane in each direction. Escaping hurricanes here requires leaving a day before they call the Evacuations, and it has nearly cost me a job or two. I've been watching the Cat 5s battering Florida, in absolute horror. Because if one of those makes it up the coast, and we're long overdue for one, shit is gonna be fucked for a very long time. >
  
  Canadian government: ever heard of MAID? >
  
  1.2m when I retire will buy me a big Mac >
  
  That’s pretty thin where I live.  Bay Area CA here. >
  
  Thank you for saying where. My Reddit pet peeve is people referencing their location without saying where it is. 
  Also pretty thin for me in Seattle >
  
  Lol I'm fucked. >
  
  HAHAHAHA IM NEVER RETIRING 🥲 >
  
  cries in older Gen Z >
  
  That's what our planner told us. Each, mind you. >
  
  Depends on your life style. For most people, that money will come from their 401k, and  as they spend it it won't magically increase the asset value.
  401k system is terrible. It leaves  people at the risk of running out of money at an old age. >
  
  They're wrong.
  The number is like $3 million - if you're retiring right now.  Returns on lower-beta investments aren't that high. >
  
  Um, no, unless you need 100k+ per year before SS, you don't need that much retiring at 65. Imagine you need 75k per year and your investments only match inflation which is pretty ridiculous. In that case, you'd get your 75k per year increasing with inflation until you hit the age of 105. Add to that whatever you make from SS. >
  
  At one point in time you could retire comfortably entirely on cash. Then you had to invest in stocks. Now, with a combination of a maxed out 401, Roth IRA, 10% net income straight to balanced ETFs you will be lucky to retire by 70, who knows maybe in 20 years the only way to retire is getting lucky on a shit coin gamble. >
  
  Bro the only person saving $30k+ a year in mostly tax advantaged accounts and isn't able to retire by 70 must have started saving way too late. >
  
  While I’m not nearly making enough money to get to that point at retirement, I know I’m gonna be ok anyways due to my Roth IRA and inheritance from my aunt and my parents when they pass. For others, they’re not so lucky >
  
  retirement is a scam an is functionally unreachable for 99% of people.
  The current boomer generation will probably be the last group of people who have any real chance at actual retirement, everyone else younger than them has missed the boat. >
  
  Sad but true. Son of boomers. Gen X, apparently. I'm nowhere near 1.25, not even close. I've been saving my entire working life. >
  
  I have a great job as a software engineer. I'm 30. There's no way I can save that much and also have kids and also have a house. Its like, you have to choose. >
  
  You might be surprised. If you contribute $10,000 a year into an investment account for 40 years with a return of 7%, you’d end up with an ending balance of $2 million. >
  
  Is that $2mil worth anything in 40 years though? You'd probably need 10 or 15 at that point. >
  
  this, exactly. Boomers probably thought that they'd only need 300k when they were younger. The price of everything always rises. >
  
  Remindme! 300 months >
  
  seems low actually. >
  
  Hmm maybe I should cancel my 401k then because that sure as shit ain't happening >
  
  I’m gonna try to make money in a high COL place then retire in a low COL place. Maybe then there’s a chance? >
  
  In other news Americans are not going to have enough to retire >
  
  Americans are so fucked, shame we can't realistically discuss solving the problem. >
  
  I remember watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire when I was a kid and thought that becoming a winner of the 1 million prize put you in a whole new echelon of humanity. Now, especially with taxes, it's not even enough to retire. >
  
  I mean. That tracks with inflation. You know what hasn’t? Income. 
  It might be time to put pressure one way or another on the people in power to finally address corporate greed keeping wages down and pushing upwards on prices simultaneously. >
  
  At minimum wage thats only 82 years of 40 hr work weeks. Luckily humans live longer than that right?
  What do you mean the life expectancy in America is 74 to 80? >
  
  How many years is this retirement for? 5 years? >
  
  oh boy 😅 >
  
  Fuck >
  
  Hahahaha. We won't get to retire. We'll either drop dead at the office, or civilization will cease to exist before we turn 65. >
  
  Everybody sing along, now. 
  Cuz... I, have thirty-thousand dollars in credit card debt! >
  
  Only millionaires get to retire. Dystopia achieved! >
  
  Perfect - I only need to keep saving at this rate for another 150 years before I can retire. >
  
  I wonder how people that make less than 100k a year will accomplish this feat? Asking for a friend.... Well actually myself and most of my friends. I guess if we save 100% of our income for a decade straight we'll be good to go. It's gonna suck being homeless for a decade and only eating free food at shelters. But it'll be worth it when I hear stories about all the millionaires and how their enjoying their wealth. Maybe they'll make a reality show about it? But damn, no way to watch it. If only I had a TV to watch it on and a home for the TV to go in. >
  
  Don't save, invest. Banks stopped giving noticeable interest during the 2008 recession. >
  
  Me reading this with $17 in my bank account.
  Chuckles
  I'm in danger.jpg >
  
  Shit. >
  
  I'm currently jobless, but I used to make $135k a year and feel that I'll never, ever retire. I don't really know how to figure out the cost to comfortably do so. No kids, no wife, no debt, LCOL owned home... but I can't fathom retiring on $1.25 million. I have no idea when I'm going to die. Maybe if I'm 65 and not doing anything, maybe I could.
  My parents just ended their careers with much more than that, and I'm not getting a dime. >
  
  To get there, you need to invest $350/month for your working life. 
  The average car payment in the US is $700 for new cars, $525 for used ones. >
  
  Idk about that. 
  Assuming 10% annual return, after taxes your left with around 6,000$ a month.
  You’d need your house to be paid off.
  This also assumes your not reinvesting it.
  I think you’d need a minimum of 3 million to retire comfortably. And that would be right now. In 30 years I’d say you’ll need 4 million because of inflation. >
  
  It would be $6,000 (which is a good amount of money) plus social security per month so probably more like $8,000 total >
  
  If you’re 401k is providing 6k you definitely won’t be getting full social security >
  
  Well how about that, thanks. I had no idea >
  
  and?
  Do the math, retirement is at 65, average life expectancy of someone 65 is 85, thats 20 years. At 50 work weeks, 40 hours per week, thats 40,000 "work", so that works out to an effective rate of $31.25 per hour (62,500 yearly).  The average hourly wage is $32.82 per hour.  solidly middle class.  In a time of their life where their medical expenses are at an all time high (insurance is about 4x what it is for other single people).
  Why is this news?  Can people just not do math?  Do they not realize how little $1.25 million is? >
  
  You’re only allowed to take 4% a year w/o being taxed, right? So 1.25M would be 50k a year. Americans would get social security on top of that... but 50k a year not that much. >
  
  $1.25 million is down right laughable. Not a chance you could retire on that. Maybe if you had a life expectancy of 15 years or less. I’m thinking closer to $3 to $4 million >
  
  Eh depends where you live. That would be comfortable in my area. Wouldn’t have an expensive new car but you wouldn’t be cold or hungry >
  
  Not to mention if you are retired you can move wherever you want . Though of course it would suck if you love your high col city or have family in the area. >
  
  This is down from the $2.4 million I read a few months ago. I’ll take it. But, does this include a home that’s paid off, or is this in addition to that? >
  
  So, 10 years? >
  
  Ever heard about México? >
  
  Thought the number was 2 mill.  either way.  max the 401k, roth ira, and hsa if you can.  Pay off your house.  reduce debt.  you know the drill...nothing new here.