Anonymous wrote:People on this board are so obsessed with saving for retirement. I understand having a financial safety net for when you are older in case of health problems or simply being unable to work for other reasons, but these days people are living longer. What do you plan to do for 20+ years?
At what age would you like to retire?
How old will your kids be?
Would you voluntarily retire later to earn extra money to help your kids pay for college? Grad school? A wedding?
If your mortgage and childcare expenses are paid off by the time you retire, how much (or what percentage of your current income) will you need when you retire per year?
We'd like to retire at 63/60; my kid will be 25. College will be over (hopefully!) and grad school likely will have started. In any event, as a PP said, paying for those things is factored into retirement planning, as are what I consider extras for my kid - wedding, cash to help with home purchase, etc. Our mortgage will be paid off - not retiring otherwise, though it may make sense for others to do so, especially if they have pensions. I feel like we could live pretty well on $100,000 per year, especially with no mortgage and no savings obligations. The big wildcard is healthcare costs. No one knows hat the healthcare situation will be in 20 years in this country. Assuming the system stays the same as it is now, which it won't, I plan on having enough put aside (separate from retirement funds) to pay for private insurance costs to get us to Medicare. That's probably an extra $100,000 total. As for what we'll do - stay active! Not in a world traveler way, although we'll definitely do some traveling, and not in a keep working way, although I'll volunteer some. I am a firm believer that living in an urban, vibrant, walkable area pays both mental and physical dividends for retirees. No retirement homes or moving to the country for us. Also beginning to think about an overseas retirement - there are some great places/deals out there.