Given the great number of aging baby boomers, I suppose it's not surprising that there are far too many articles written about dealing with retirement. When I googled "retirement advice", I got 20,700,000 hits. Where to retire? An entire magazine is now devoted to helping you move away from the place where you live once you stop working. How to save for retirement? Where to vacation in retirement, as if you were working too hard in retirement. How to stay healthy in retirement? Unfortunately, much of the advice I see seems wrong, misleading, or just silly.
Take, for example, this piece in Yahoo's Focus On Lifelong Investing section entitled "Four Ways Sixty-Year-Olds Can Save Their Retirement" . More than likely, the typical 69 year old is going to have a tough time resusitating his failing retirement. But here we go with Yahoo's suggestions and some reactions:
Build a Bigger Nest Egg. They cite an expert who says "...if you need $30,000 per year indexed to inflation starting at age 65 until age 95, then you need $900,000 in your portfolio at age 65." I'm in big trouble!
Check Your Asset Allocation. No mention of precious metals or hard assets. No mention that the US stock market has gone nowhere for 10 years. The article notes that "...workers age 50 and over can contribute up $22,000 to their 401(k) in 2011". Small comfort to many when the median annual salary of US workers is $38,400.
Delay Retirement. "Even going back to school online where you can learn new skills and enhance your resume may be a solution." Ha Ha Ha.
Delay Taking Social Security. Good idea if both your parents both lived to be 90.
The advice given is better suited to a well off 40-year-old rather than an average 60-year-old. Here's some suggestions about retirement from an actual happy retiree. Give up golf-- you'll have less stress in your life and save money. Take naps. You need the rest and you can't spend money if you're asleep. Laugh as much as you can. A great place to get started is at Suddenly Senior. Read Your Money Or Your Life to be inspired about living well with less money.
3 comments:
Good post, enid. Congratulations on achieving a happy retirement. I am 62 and retired, by choice and by necessity. One bit of advice I would add to your comments is to secure good medical insurance while you can, no matter the price. Until last summer, I had not spent a day in a hospital for 4 decades. Then, last summer out of nowhere, a week in the hospital for a body chemical imbalance. Early next year, I am looking at a hip replacement. The active lifestyle comes back to bite in one's senior years.
Thanks J and good point about the medical insurance.
Oh, and J, best of luck with the hip. You'll be better than new in no time. Like yourself I had my first overnight at a hospital this year. Very minor deal, but still an eye opener about hospitals.
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