| How many years of salary saved up upon retirement? vs. age? |
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$tudent
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| How many years of salary saved up upon retirement? vs. age? |
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I am familiar with the various formulas for determining how much savings one should have upon retirement, but I'd like to find out, not about the "should," but about "what is..."
Does anyone know of any research that indicates the savings, as measured in multiples of final annual salary, that people have upon entering retirement? Any further information on how that multiple depends upon age at retirement?
Thank you.
Can the money you’ve got be called loot?
Here’s a test: did a guy in a suit
Grunt “Da big guy sez T’anks”?
Did you “find” it in banks?
Did a lady say, “Take it, don’t shoot”?
- Max Gutmann
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Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:50 am |
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coaster
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I'm sure that data is available, at least in its raw form, but you might have to do the manipulation yourself to put it in the metrics you're looking for. I'd start by trying various government websites, startiing with the BLS. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
~Tim~
Eye Candy : Why Whimsy
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Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:24 pm |
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$tudent
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Thank you, coaster. I have been searching the BLS site, but have not yet found that answer. I did find interesting data about how much various demographic cohorts have saved for retirement, and what characterized "risk takers" (i.e. up-and-down variable interest rather than fixed savings account interest).
I will keep looking.
Can the money you’ve got be called loot?
Here’s a test: did a guy in a suit
Grunt “Da big guy sez T’anks”?
Did you “find” it in banks?
Did a lady say, “Take it, don’t shoot”?
- Max Gutmann
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Fri Feb 05, 2010 1:57 am |
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oldguy
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I googled 'net worth of retirees'.
The mean family net worth for the 55 to 64 age group was $930,000 in 2007.
There are articles that postulate that 'net worth at retirement' was the key metric - and there are articles that postulated that 'income flow' was the key metric. Personally, I think they are nearly the same thing. Eg, if you have a $2M NW at age 65 and no income stream, you can simply convert much of your NW to a life annuity and build your own pension.
As for tying your age-65 savings to your final salary, it depends. At one extreme, the $20,000 min wage earner will get an SS pension and medicare that will provide nearly the same standard of living as the $20k/yr - ie, maybe a small trailer, an older car, and a daily struggle for survival.
Conversely, if your final salary was $200,000, you can live well on $20k of SS and $60k/yr from investments - ie, a down-sized paid-off house, no payroll tax, no $16.5k 401k payout, lower tax bill, etc, so way less than $200k is needed.
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Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:10 pm |
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coaster
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No, sorry, I know the answer's not there. I don't think you'll find a ready answer anywhere. What I meant is that all the DATA is there. You have to take the data and come up with your own answer.
A little elbow grease and a little sweat makes you understand what it is you're analyzing a whole lot better than if you come across a ready-made answer. Nothing worthwhile comes easy.
I suspect you already know all that. 
~Tim~
Eye Candy : Why Whimsy
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Sat Feb 06, 2010 3:18 am |
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$tudent
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Thanks, coaster and oldguy. I think that point statistics such as mentioned by oldguy ("mean family net worth for the 55 to 64 age group was $930,000 in 2007") can be elaborated into a histogram (rather than just a mean), and I think that BLS would similarly provide a histogram of salaries of the same age group.
It is the correlation that is hard... one needs both a salary and a net worth (and an age) to figure out the multiples of final salary a family has upon retirement.
I will continue to dig and report anything I find here. Thanks again so far!
Can the money you’ve got be called loot?
Here’s a test: did a guy in a suit
Grunt “Da big guy sez T’anks”?
Did you “find” it in banks?
Did a lady say, “Take it, don’t shoot”?
- Max Gutmann
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Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:28 am |
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alexender
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Joined: 06 Feb 2010
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It is indeed a good point to think on as many people are not sure on the amount of money they should save for their retirement. They also need to decide the amount they want to save and invest for further planning of the life after retirement.
http://www.fharemortgage.com/FhaFixedRate.aspx
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Thu Feb 11, 2010 7:18 pm |
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