Median Retirement Savings of Pre-Retirees is $17,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, but having only $17K saved is NOT a good thing either. There are financial sites that can advise you on how much you need to be/should be saving. You don't need to rely on DCUM estimates - aim for what legitimate financial sites indicate you will need.

no kidding its not good enough. the point is that most of america is not prepared for retirement.

and whose fault is that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, but having only $17K saved is NOT a good thing either. There are financial sites that can advise you on how much you need to be/should be saving. You don't need to rely on DCUM estimates - aim for what legitimate financial sites indicate you will need.

no kidding its not good enough. the point is that most of america is not prepared for retirement.

and whose fault is that?

I don't think this thread is about fault -- the point is that people in DC are somewhat out of touch. do you not agree?

It may also become all of our problem when a great number of American are destitute in retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My property taxes are $1000 a month

And where do you live? Do you think most of America lives in a home like yours?

Toronto
No, but i don't know anyone who pays under $500.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My property taxes are $1000 a month

And where do you live? Do you think most of America lives in a home like yours?

Toronto
No, but i don't know anyone who pays under $500.

You need to get out more.

The median property tax in FL (lots of seniors) is $1,773 -- A YEAR and no income tax.

Texas is considered a high property tax state and average is $2,275 -- A YEAR and no income tax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, but having only $17K saved is NOT a good thing either. There are financial sites that can advise you on how much you need to be/should be saving. You don't need to rely on DCUM estimates - aim for what legitimate financial sites indicate you will need.

no kidding its not good enough. the point is that most of america is not prepared for retirement.

and whose fault is that?

I don't think this thread is about fault -- the point is that people in DC are somewhat out of touch. do you not agree?

It may also become all of our problem when a great number of American are destitute in retirement.

A large number of these people already exist.

There are elderly people living hand to mouth in the DC area. Some are taking care of their sick spouses with very, very limited outside support.

[Anonymous]

What do you mean no income tax?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So for my wife and I (54 & 51, respectively), our $350K doesn't look so bad.

Compared to normal, middle America -- nope, not bad at all. On DCUM -- OMG I don't know how you sleep at night bc these people had 350k saved up individually while single at age 30.

[Anonymous]

I’m 29 and have just over 10k in my retirement accounts and I own a condo. Most days I feel pretty darn good about where I am considering how expensive everything is in this area. There’s no way I’m retiring here so I hope compound interest from starting a 401k in my 20s - yes, even if it doesn’t have very much in it right now - will carry me through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this statistic is pretty useless. DC area residents are not anywhere near the median in terms of education, income, or housing costs. I'd be willing to bet that most people in NW DC or close-in suburbs have at least $2 million in net worth by the time they retire.

So the only people who count as DC area residents are the ones who live in NW, Arlington or Bethesda? Interesting view of the world. If you live in SE/SW or Alexandria or Falls Church or Rockville, you aren't a DC area resident? Bc I'm fairly sure you'll find LOTS of households in those areas where $2 million at retirement would be akin to hitting the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this statistic is pretty useless. DC area residents are not anywhere near the median in terms of education, income, or housing costs. I'd be willing to bet that most people in NW DC or close-in suburbs have at least $2 million in net worth by the time they retire.

So the only people who count as DC area residents are the ones who live in NW, Arlington or Bethesda? Interesting view of the world. If you live in SE/SW or Alexandria or Falls Church or Rockville, you aren't a DC area resident? Bc I'm fairly sure you'll find LOTS of households in those areas where $2 million at retirement would be akin to hitting the lottery.

totally agree. but then again I'm out in gaithersburg. lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this statistic is pretty useless. DC area residents are not anywhere near the median in terms of education, income, or housing costs. I'd be willing to bet that most people in NW DC or close-in suburbs have at least $2 million in net worth by the time they retire.

So the only people who count as DC area residents are the ones who live in NW, Arlington or Bethesda? Interesting view of the world. If you live in SE/SW or Alexandria or Falls Church or Rockville, you aren't a DC area resident? Bc I'm fairly sure you'll find LOTS of households in those areas where $2 million at retirement would be akin to hitting the lottery.

If you want to feel better about yourself, by all means compare yourself to the national median. But realistically you should benchmark yourself against people who have had the same economic opportunities. In this region, people who live in NW, Arlington, or Bethesda are the ones who are above median. People who live in SE/SW or Gaithersburg are below median. Just because you can find others who are in your financial situation doesn't mean that it's not below median for the region and any higher expectations are unrealistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this statistic is pretty useless. DC area residents are not anywhere near the median in terms of education, income, or housing costs. I'd be willing to bet that most people in NW DC or close-in suburbs have at least $2 million in net worth by the time they retire.

So the only people who count as DC area residents are the ones who live in NW, Arlington or Bethesda? Interesting view of the world. If you live in SE/SW or Alexandria or Falls Church or Rockville, you aren't a DC area resident? Bc I'm fairly sure you'll find LOTS of households in those areas where $2 million at retirement would be akin to hitting the lottery.

If you want to feel better about yourself, by all means compare yourself to the national median. But realistically you should benchmark yourself against people who have had the same economic opportunities. In this region, people who live in NW, Arlington, or Bethesda are the ones who are above median. People who live in SE/SW or Gaithersburg are below median. Just because you can find others who are in your financial situation doesn't mean that it's not below median for the region and any higher expectations are unrealistic.

Economic opportunities are determined by geographic location, really? So every person in Manhattan has astounding economic opportunity because Manhattan has hedge fund portfolio managers, so everyone has a shot to be a hedge fund PM bc they live in the same area? And a scientist at NIH has the same economic opportunity as someone who works Carlyle or a lobbyist bc they all live and work within a few miles of each other?

I don't need to feel better about myself thanks -- very secure in my saving/investing decisions. Unlike you I recognize however that not everyone has equal opportunities so faulting and mocking others is of no use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this statistic is pretty useless. DC area residents are not anywhere near the median in terms of education, income, or housing costs. I'd be willing to bet that most people in NW DC or close-in suburbs have at least $2 million in net worth by the time they retire.

So the only people who count as DC area residents are the ones who live in NW, Arlington or Bethesda? Interesting view of the world. If you live in SE/SW or Alexandria or Falls Church or Rockville, you aren't a DC area resident? Bc I'm fairly sure you'll find LOTS of households in those areas where $2 million at retirement would be akin to hitting the lottery.

If you want to feel better about yourself, by all means compare yourself to the national median. But realistically you should benchmark yourself against people who have had the same economic opportunities. In this region, people who live in NW, Arlington, or Bethesda are the ones who are above median. People who live in SE/SW or Gaithersburg are below median. Just because you can find others who are in your financial situation doesn't mean that it's not below median for the region and any higher expectations are unrealistic.

Economic opportunities are determined by geographic location, really? So every person in Manhattan has astounding economic opportunity because Manhattan has hedge fund portfolio managers, so everyone has a shot to be a hedge fund PM bc they live in the same area? And a scientist at NIH has the same economic opportunity as someone who works Carlyle or a lobbyist bc they all live and work within a few miles of each other?

I don't need to feel better about myself thanks -- very secure in my saving/investing decisions. Unlike you I recognize however that not everyone has equal opportunities so faulting and mocking others is of no use.

Of course economic opportunities are correlated with geography! How many people in WV even know what a hedge fund is or have ever met a NIH research scientist? $17K in retirement savings is admirable if you live in a low COL area. It's pathetic if you ever broke $100K in HHI and indicates poor financial planning.

[Anonymous]

eh a lot of those people probably have pensions worth 1-2M maybe even more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:eh a lot of those people probably have pensions worth 1-2M maybe even more.

LOL!!!