Middle-class, reasonable, not extravagant retirement plans

[Anonymous]

This is NOT the thread for people who can afford to max out their 401k every year without much sacrifice because they have an HHI of 300-400k, or who have family money, or who have a million dollars in equity in their huge houses.

This is a thread for middle class people who are far from poor but who must make hard choices between retirement savings and stuff like childcare expenses or college savings. Who probably have some home equity but also might retire in those homes so aren't necessarily cashing in for a big payday. You might have a pension from teaching or the military but it's like 3-4k a month, not 10k.

What are your normal person retirement plans? What are the best choices you feel you've made in this respect? Any regrets? What worries you most? Are you moving to a lower COL area or hoping to retire in your home once it's paid off? Does social security factor into your plans? How do you plan for end-of-life care? Will you have enough to do some of your bucket list retirement goals, like travel or being able to help pay for grandkids to go to college?

I'm just curious about how the not-rich people on these boards think about this issue.

[Anonymous]

Goal should be to find a way to have a home without a mortgage. It might mean downsizing to a 1 or 2 bedroom place and/or moving to a LCOL area. That way you only owe taxes and upkeep.

[Anonymous]

We’ll move near our kids assuming they don’t end up in higher COL areas and hope for the best.

[Anonymous]

We are going to retire at 70 - DH and I both have cerebral jobs. We are going to sell our house and move in with our son - he and his wife have an inlaw apartment that is a perfect size for what DH and I want in an older stage of life. Their house is in a great area with tons to do, good hospitals and we are active people who hopefully won't have mobility issues. Our two DD's live ten minutes and a half hour from DS so we'll be pretty close to all the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are going to retire at 70 - DH and I both have cerebral jobs. We are going to sell our house and move in with our son - he and his wife have an inlaw apartment that is a perfect size for what DH and I want in an older stage of life. Their house is in a great area with tons to do, good hospitals and we are active people who hopefully won't have mobility issues. Our two DD's live ten minutes and a half hour from DS so we'll be pretty close to all the kids.

Gosh sounds enmeshed. Anyone else have tips without mental health baggage?

[Anonymous]

If current house mortgage is not paid off by retirement, we’ll downsize to a cheaper house we can afford to pay full or pay minimally monthly. The key is to be as debt free as possible upon retirement.

We will always prioritize our retirement savings. We only have one child, but she’s free in her tuition because my husband works at a university. If you want to save for your kids college, do it early as you can. Don’t sacrifice your retirement whatever you do. It’s up to how much you can contribute to their college savings without sacrificing to a point you can’t enjoy anymore. You gotta have some fun while raising kids.

If you have a pension, you’re already ahead than others. Pensions are rare nowadays. Contribute to your 401k company’s match as much as you can afford. Nothing can beat a match from your company (free money).

If you have pension, plus decent 401k, and social security, and practically debt free by retirement, then I think you have a decent golden years. Your health longevity and expectancy plays a big role.

All the financial advisors we talked to or advice we read say we need 80% of our current income to maintain our current lifestyle. If not, then we have to lower down.

There’s not one size fits all. Every household is different. But those are the general guidelines we have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are going to retire at 70 - DH and I both have cerebral jobs. We are going to sell our house and move in with our son - he and his wife have an inlaw apartment that is a perfect size for what DH and I want in an older stage of life. Their house is in a great area with tons to do, good hospitals and we are active people who hopefully won't have mobility issues. Our two DD's live ten minutes and a half hour from DS so we'll be pretty close to all the kids.

Gosh sounds enmeshed. Anyone else have tips without mental health baggage?

-1 This sounds great to me as long as the DS is on board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If current house mortgage is not paid off by retirement, we’ll downsize to a cheaper house we can afford to pay full or pay minimally monthly. The key is to be as debt free as possible upon retirement.

We will always prioritize our retirement savings. We only have one child, but she’s free in her tuition because my husband works at a university. If you want to save for your kids college, do it early as you can. Don’t sacrifice your retirement whatever you do. It’s up to how much you can contribute to their college savings without sacrificing to a point you can’t enjoy anymore. You gotta have some fun while raising kids.

If you have a pension, you’re already ahead than others. Pensions are rare nowadays. Contribute to your 401k company’s match as much as you can afford. Nothing can beat a match from your company (free money).

If you have pension, plus decent 401k, and social security, and practically debt free by retirement, then I think you have a decent golden years. Your health longevity and expectancy plays a big role.

All the financial advisors we talked to or advice we read say we need 80% of our current income to maintain our current lifestyle. If not, then we have to lower down.

There’s not one size fits all. Every household is different. But those are the general guidelines we have.

Our current mortgage runs to about 6 years past our planned retirement date, but I don't want to pay it off early because it's such a low rate (2.49%) so I am just planning on buying ibonds that will be earmarked to cover the remainder of the mortgage and then just pay from that source when retirement comes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are going to retire at 70 - DH and I both have cerebral jobs. We are going to sell our house and move in with our son - he and his wife have an inlaw apartment that is a perfect size for what DH and I want in an older stage of life. Their house is in a great area with tons to do, good hospitals and we are active people who hopefully won't have mobility issues. Our two DD's live ten minutes and a half hour from DS so we'll be pretty close to all the kids.

Gosh sounds enmeshed. Anyone else have tips without mental health baggage?

Not sure why you think that. We'll have our own entrance, and own kitchen and living space. It's like an apartment that's attached to his house. We get along very nicely with all our kids and we all enjoy spending time together. Dh and I have couple friends and our own friends. We each volunteer and have hobbies. We'll have plenty of time for all that plus for our kids. Right now they rent out the apartment. When we are a year or six months away from moving in, they're going to do some upgrades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are going to retire at 70 - DH and I both have cerebral jobs. We are going to sell our house and move in with our son - he and his wife have an inlaw apartment that is a perfect size for what DH and I want in an older stage of life. Their house is in a great area with tons to do, good hospitals and we are active people who hopefully won't have mobility issues. Our two DD's live ten minutes and a half hour from DS so we'll be pretty close to all the kids.

Gosh sounds enmeshed. Anyone else have tips without mental health baggage?

Not sure why you think that. We'll have our own entrance, and own kitchen and living space. It's like an apartment that's attached to his house. We get along very nicely with all our kids and we all enjoy spending time together. Dh and I have couple friends and our own friends. We each volunteer and have hobbies. We'll have plenty of time for all that plus for our kids. Right now they rent out the apartment. When we are a year or six months away from moving in, they're going to do some upgrades.

I’m so curious to know how the DIL feels about this and whose idea this was! This is super crazy close, I can’t imagine doing this to my kids. Do you not think about their marriage or privacy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are going to retire at 70 - DH and I both have cerebral jobs. We are going to sell our house and move in with our son - he and his wife have an inlaw apartment that is a perfect size for what DH and I want in an older stage of life. Their house is in a great area with tons to do, good hospitals and we are active people who hopefully won't have mobility issues. Our two DD's live ten minutes and a half hour from DS so we'll be pretty close to all the kids.

You. Are. Nightmare. Parents.

[Anonymous]

I don’t want to be critical to the future retirees at 70 poster, but I remember clearly during my Lamaze/childbirth classes, the psychologist advised us future parents to avoid living in very close proximity with our in-laws. He said, “live at least over an hour away.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are going to retire at 70 - DH and I both have cerebral jobs. We are going to sell our house and move in with our son - he and his wife have an inlaw apartment that is a perfect size for what DH and I want in an older stage of life. Their house is in a great area with tons to do, good hospitals and we are active people who hopefully won't have mobility issues. Our two DD's live ten minutes and a half hour from DS so we'll be pretty close to all the kids.

You. Are. Nightmare. Parents.

They really are not. I'd love for my parents to do this and we're not even particularly close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t want to be critical to the future retirees at 70 poster, but I remember clearly during my Lamaze/childbirth classes, the psychologist advised us future parents to avoid living in very close proximity with our in-laws. He said, “live at least over an hour away.”

Yeah, it can be a terrible idea in new parenthood, when you don't need people hanging around giving you guff about something you're totally new at. That doesn't make it good advice for the rest of your life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If current house mortgage is not paid off by retirement, we’ll downsize to a cheaper house we can afford to pay full or pay minimally monthly. The key is to be as debt free as possible upon retirement.

We will always prioritize our retirement savings. We only have one child, but she’s free in her tuition because my husband works at a university. If you want to save for your kids college, do it early as you can. Don’t sacrifice your retirement whatever you do. It’s up to how much you can contribute to their college savings without sacrificing to a point you can’t enjoy anymore. You gotta have some fun while raising kids.

If you have a pension, you’re already ahead than others. Pensions are rare nowadays. Contribute to your 401k company’s match as much as you can afford. Nothing can beat a match from your company (free money).

If you have pension, plus decent 401k, and social security, and practically debt free by retirement, then I think you have a decent golden years. Your health longevity and expectancy plays a big role.

All the financial advisors we talked to or advice we read say we need 80% of our current income to maintain our current lifestyle. If not, then we have to lower down.

There’s not one size fits all. Every household is different. But those are the general guidelines we have.

Our current mortgage runs to about 6 years past our planned retirement date, but I don't want to pay it off early because it's such a low rate (2.49%) so I am just planning on buying ibonds that will be earmarked to cover the remainder of the mortgage and then just pay from that source when retirement comes.

This is a great plan PP. keep that low interest rate!