Middle-class, reasonable, not extravagant retirement plans

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one has really answered your question, OP, which leads me to believe that no one wants to admit what their plans are or no one wants to admit that they don't have a plan.

The real middle class plan is a nursing home thorough long-term care Medicaid. None of these are real middle-class examples. Middle class aren't living in million dollar houses and can downsize. They don't have the kind of savings or retirement plans suggested.

[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.

Or inlaws

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I would have LOVED if my parents had moved in with us. We have a huge house for just DW & I and parents who lived thousands of miles away in Florida. When they got older and developed health problems, we had to keep flying down to help take care of them, which was really hard. We begged them to move in with us and would have loved for them to have spent their last years in our home.

Anonymous wrote:

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?

We are about 8 years away from retirement in a HCOL area with very high property taxes. We have saved about 1.5mil and are aiming for 2.3mil. No pensions. I think it'll be plenty for our bucket list of travel, but my DW fears we'll need more for end-of-life care, since we don't have kids. We both are also OK going to somewhere that will help us shuffle off this mortal coil if we have a diagnosis that seems bleak.

My spouse plans to work until 70 and do p-t work until she doesn't want to anymore. I plan to retire when she hits 70 (I'm 6 years younger) or taper to part time work sooner if possible. My FT job pays for our health insurance, so I'm trying to keep working as long as possible to hold on to that or at least until my spouse hits 65.

We have a mortgage now and will downsize to a smaller home without a mortgage with slightly lower taxes when we retire. We love our area and would rather be in a smaller house here than a bigger house in a LCOL or MCOL area. Our friends are here, the culture and food we love is here, the access to great airports is here, and -- most importantly -- the access to world-class medical care and top specialists.

You are wealthy, not middle class.

They may or may not be middle class, but one thing is for sure that makes it harder to suss out—they’re old. DW is 62–this is a far older couple than are typically reporting net worth on DCUM. They may have been earning under $125k combined and have this level of savings at this age if they were aggressive savers throughout. On the other hand, they may have a $500k HHI and have been frittering it away. I would call that more stupid than wealthy but the point is—it would have been a very different path to this result than an aggressive saver’s lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

I am not the PP, but why do so many if you believe living with/near kids is so horrible? Our parents (mine and spouse's) both moved to less than 2 miles from us and it's great! Our children have a relationship with both sets of grandparents, and we see each other as frequently, or infrequently, as our busy lives allow.

We actually like each other and get along, as it should be. And when the time comes that they need more care, I will be honored to do so, as my parents raised me and spouses parents raised him, and it is the very least we can do.

For all of you horrified by this, I feel sorry for you and your families. And, BTW, what is your plan? To languish in an assisted living/continuing care facility when you are older? Now that's sad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


You are wealthy, not middle class.

They may or may not be middle class, but one thing is for sure that makes it harder to suss out—they’re old. DW is 62–this is a far older couple than are typically reporting net worth on DCUM. They may have been earning under $125k combined and have this level of savings at this age if they were aggressive savers throughout. On the other hand, they may have a $500k HHI and have been frittering it away. I would call that more stupid than wealthy but the point is—it would have been a very different path to this result than an aggressive saver’s lifestyle.

Yes, we are very aggressive savers. We have a HHI of $200k (which in our VHCOL area is very middle class) and max out our 401k/SEP/Roth, etc. Not having kids helps in the savings department, but we have supported our parents and siblings extensively over the years. We are NOT counting on them for our retirement, so that lit a fire for us to make sure we have the money for any care we might need.

[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.

I mean I don’t plan on doing with but this is such an Americanized view of family. You know that in many parts of the world multigenerational living is the norm? And that as the middle class gets squeezed out, it might become the norm in the US as well?

[Anonymous]

For those trying to save as much as possible, do you forgo vacations? What is your budget for family vacations?

[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.

You. Are. Nightmare. Parents.

I mean I don’t plan on doing with but this is such an Americanized view of family. You know that in many parts of the world multigenerational living is the norm? And that as the middle class gets squeezed out, it might become the norm in the US as well?

PP here who may live with adult dc at some point-I agree. Also, I can help build family wealth by saving my adult dc $20,000 or more a year in childcare costs by providing it. That's money they can use to build wealth for their future.

[Anonymous]

My brother is lower middle class. Makes about $25000 a year at most as a para educator with good healthcare. Lives in an old small one bedroom house with small farm attached. Worth about $180k and paid off off. Gets hand me down cars from family and a bit of financial help to fix up the farm (new heating system and tractor). Has a super simple lifestyle and Has very minimal expenses. He saves about $6k a year in His 403b and takes advantage of the Federal savers credit for retirement on his taxes. I know the Roth is better but he has a lot of trouble managing paper bills due to ADHD. He doesn’t even have a credit card and only uses a debit card.

Is his life ideal to me? No. But it works for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those trying to save as much as possible, do you forgo vacations? What is your budget for family vacations?

We usually plunge on nice long weekend trips to NY city or to Disney. Every 3 to five years we have a big trip to Japan where we have family or to other other places overseas. In the summer we spend a week with family.

If you are flexible a lot of things can be done with day trips in the mid Atlantic.

Big thing is to avoid lifestyle creep with new cars and such. We DIY almost everything.

[Anonymous]

I am early 30s and have no idea. I rent. I’m a teacher. I put over 1,000 a month to retirement (pension/ additional savings in separate account) and it still doesn’t feel like enough. I hate that I always feel behind but I cannot afford to do more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.”

Hard disagree. Just posted that my parents live 15 minutes away and it is perfect. For example, today (Saturday) we plan to drop them off after afternoon activities for a sleepover, have the evening to ourselves, and pick them up tomorrow morning for a lunchtime birthday party. We couldn’t do that if they lived an hour away.

Also I thought the comment about retiring at 70 due to cerebral jobs was interesting. Looking around my own cerebral workplace the number of people experiencing health problems in theirs 50s angv6ps necessitating retirement is depressing.

+1

I am 62 and have a cerebral job, which I find harder to do than I did ten years ago. I don't plan to work past 65.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those trying to save as much as possible, do you forgo vacations? What is your budget for family vacations?

We rarely vacation so its a non-issue and haven't for several years and probably will not with covid still around. Middle class don't travel much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


You are wealthy, not middle class.

They may or may not be middle class, but one thing is for sure that makes it harder to suss out—they’re old. DW is 62–this is a far older couple than are typically reporting net worth on DCUM. They may have been earning under $125k combined and have this level of savings at this age if they were aggressive savers throughout. On the other hand, they may have a $500k HHI and have been frittering it away. I would call that more stupid than wealthy but the point is—it would have been a very different path to this result than an aggressive saver’s lifestyle.

Yes, we are very aggressive savers. We have a HHI of $200k (which in our VHCOL area is very middle class) and max out our 401k/SEP/Roth, etc. Not having kids helps in the savings department, but we have supported our parents and siblings extensively over the years. We are NOT counting on them for our retirement, so that lit a fire for us to make sure we have the money for any care we might need.

You are NOT middle class let alone very middle class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


You are wealthy, not middle class.

They may or may not be middle class, but one thing is for sure that makes it harder to suss out—they’re old. DW is 62–this is a far older couple than are typically reporting net worth on DCUM. They may have been earning under $125k combined and have this level of savings at this age if they were aggressive savers throughout. On the other hand, they may have a $500k HHI and have been frittering it away. I would call that more stupid than wealthy but the point is—it would have been a very different path to this result than an aggressive saver’s lifestyle.

Yes, we are very aggressive savers. We have a HHI of $200k (which in our VHCOL area is very middle class) and max out our 401k/SEP/Roth, etc. Not having kids helps in the savings department, but we have supported our parents and siblings extensively over the years. We are NOT counting on them for our retirement, so that lit a fire for us to make sure we have the money for any care we might need.

You are NOT middle class let alone very middle class.

+1. 200k HHI for DINKs and they consider themselves "very middle class." Amazing, people have no perspective at all.