What do you say to someone who asks about how much money you have saved for retirement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, it's odd that you think anyone would ask

It’s odd that nosey people do ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The conversation about money is important. If someone asked us how much money we have saved for our retirement ...our answer would certainly include things like -

- We hope to continue to age in place for as long as we can. There will be some cost for maintenance and modifications with our present home.
- We are not very sure if social security will remain or be reliable so our calculations does not include it.
- We are worried about healthcare costs. We have disability and long term care insurance. We also wonder about the cost of having a health aide.
- We have to concurrently save for college and other higher education costs for our 2 children.
- We feel that we would like to have at least $175K (pick a number) earnings from interests in present day costs each year once we retire to live comfortably if not lavishly.
- We hope to only have one car, no mortgage, no college costs - once we retire.
- We hope to go on 4 vacations a year, each costing no more than 10K for the two of us. So that is an additional $40K.
- We hope to gift our children $x tax-free every year. That is an additional $y.

They don’t want to know about your hopes, they want to know what you’re worth.

[Anonymous]

The only person I have gotten that question from was someone who inherited a bunch of money. They wanted to compare their nest egg with mine. A chance to brag about all the money got tax free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have saved well and have no debts. We don't want our personal info to become gossip.

"enough.. At least we think so..". Even our young adult kids don't know how much we have. The plan is to tell them when we think they are well settled and are mature enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The conversation about money is important. If someone asked us how much money we have saved for our retirement ...our answer would certainly include things like -

- We hope to continue to age in place for as long as we can. There will be some cost for maintenance and modifications with our present home.
- We are not very sure if social security will remain or be reliable so our calculations does not include it.
- We are worried about healthcare costs. We have disability and long term care insurance. We also wonder about the cost of having a health aide.
- We have to concurrently save for college and other higher education costs for our 2 children.
- We feel that we would like to have at least $175K (pick a number) earnings from interests in present day costs each year once we retire to live comfortably if not lavishly.
- We hope to only have one car, no mortgage, no college costs - once we retire.
- We hope to go on 4 vacations a year, each costing no more than 10K for the two of us. So that is an additional $40K.
- We hope to gift our children $x tax-free every year. That is an additional $y.

They don’t want to know about your hopes, they want to know what you’re worth.

Well, we will use the opportunity to give them all the info that they don't want and also bore them with our hopes and dreams. Hopefully, it will encourage them to skadaddle from there without finding out our retirement savings.

[Anonymous]

"All of it."

[Anonymous]

I just find a way to let the know I'll be fine and due to my careful planning and saving won't have to eat cat food more than 3 times a week!

[Anonymous]

People in this forum ask this all the time. Yes, it is anonymous, but the many threads suggest it’s something people want to know. Sure, it can be about bragging rights, but it may also reflect anxiety about insufficient savings, which probably reflects an inadequate financial plan.

If this is the gist of OP’s inquisitor, I’d say: “we have a financial plan that’s estimated our future expenses, and we’re working to save toward that goal.” If they ask something more, offer some rules of thumb: “I don’t know your expenses, but if you have a paid off house, no debts, and $100k of expenses, the 4% withdrawal rule suggests you’ll need about $2.5 million. Of course, if you count Social Security, it would be something less.” Talk about hypotheticals and rules of thumb. If they offer a number, say “Great! It sounds like you’ve got retirement covered.”

[Anonymous]

I would say I wasn’t able to save anything and if I have any trouble can i crash with you.

[Anonymous]

"Not as much as I'd like! Kids are expensive!"

[Anonymous]

Easy. One million and it will last me forever.

[Anonymous]

You can respond, "Why do you ask?"

[Anonymous]

Is this someone who will have to care for you in your old age if you run out of money?

If not, none of their business and rude to ask. Respond “enough” and leave it there.

[Anonymous]

I tell them. What’s the big secret?

[Anonymous]

You can say, "I'm not going to answer that question."