Minimum savings needed to retire in each state

[Rukh O'Rorke]

www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/heres-exactly-how-much-you-need-saved-for-retirement-in-your-state/ss-BBPcFvp?li=BBnb7Kz#image=50

Over a million every where.....

One state over 2 million

:<O

[busymom]

So, basically they're telling us that most of us will never retire.  Nice.  

[tallguy]

I really dislike articles like that.  What you need is not a function of what they think the average person spends.  It is a function of what you spend.  I can easily get by on under half of what they claim is the required living costs.  Have for years.  

[hoops902]

Feb 13, 2019 9:51:32 GMT -5 tallguy said:

I really dislike articles like that.  What you need is not a function of what they think the average person spends.  It is a function of what you spend.  I can easily get by on under half of what they claim is the required living costs.  Have for years.  

I don't see anything that says it is the "required" costs...it's the cost of living there...some will be higher and some will be lower.  

You may not like it, but ANY article that deals with people in any way is going to run into the same problem...not every person is precisely the same so any generalizations or statistics used won't apply to most people.

[Value Buy]

Feb 13, 2019 9:50:53 GMT -5 busymom said:

So, basically they're telling us that most of us will never retire.  Nice.  

Why worry. The democrats got you covered!

[teen persuasion]

Uh huh, because everywhere in NYS is as expensive as NYC.

And nobody has any other sources of income, like SS, or pensions.

[busymom]

Feb 13, 2019 9:56:23 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Feb 13, 2019 9:50:53 GMT -5 busymom said:

So, basically they're telling us that most of us will never retire.  Nice.  

Why worry. The democrats got you covered!

    Maybe you haven't noticed the Republicans are trying to dismantle healthcare, Medicare & Medicaid.  There's nothing like a party that throws money at the rich who don't need it, while taking away programs from the folks who actually need them to survive.  My suggestion is, don't ever grow old, or get disabled.  

[Value Buy]

Feb 13, 2019 10:01:28 GMT -5 busymom said:

Feb 13, 2019 9:56:23 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Why worry. The democrats got you covered!

    Maybe you haven't noticed the Republicans are trying to dismantle healthcare, Medicare & Medicaid.  There's nothing like a party that throws money at the rich who don't need it, while taking away programs from the folks who actually need them to survive.  My suggestion is, don't ever grow old, or get disabled.  

ALL Democratic red meat talking points to keep the masses in line.
Republicans say these exact opposite things for red meat for their base.
Truth is, we will continue the march towards bigger government programs, whether I want it to happen or not.

[teen persuasion]

Feb 13, 2019 9:55:35 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

Feb 13, 2019 9:51:32 GMT -5 tallguy said:

I really dislike articles like that.  What you need is not a function of what they think the average person spends.  It is a function of what you spend.  I can easily get by on under half of what they claim is the required living costs.  Have for years.  

I don't see anything that says it is the "required" costs...it's the cost of living there...some will be higher and some will be lower.  

You may not like it, but ANY article that deals with people in any way is going to run into the same problem...not every person is precisely the same so any generalizations or statistics used won't apply to most people.

Well, the title was "Here's exactly how much you need saved for retirement in your state" (emphasis mine).

Further down, they said "determined exactly how much you'll need to get by in retirement".

[hoops902]

Feb 13, 2019 10:06:39 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Feb 13, 2019 9:55:35 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

I don't see anything that says it is the "required" costs...it's the cost of living there...some will be higher and some will be lower.  

You may not like it, but ANY article that deals with people in any way is going to run into the same problem...not every person is precisely the same so any generalizations or statistics used won't apply to most people.

Well, the title was "Here's exactly how much you need saved for retirement in your state" (emphasis mine).

Further down, they said "determined exactly how much you'll need to get by in retirement".

Fair enough, i guess I tend to interpret that differently.  I tend to interpret that as "we're going to put a specific dollar value figure to it" as opposed to something that says "figure out 75% of your income, plus whatever, minus whatever, etc).  I interpret exact to mean specific, as opposed to required.  Maybe that's a function of my job, where sometimes we use exact figures, and sometimes we use rough figures...I don't tend to  associate either with required or not.

[countrygirl2]

I don't see its that out of line if you want a decent retirement.  As hubs said we had goals but if you can't meet them you will retire on what you have no matter how much it is.

But retiring with a lot less will not be a great retirement, but of course you will do it, you have to.

[bean29]

Can someone tell me how much it says I need to retire in WI. I am curious, but it crashed my computer.

Thanks!

[steph08]

Feb 13, 2019 10:40:15 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Can someone tell me how much it says I need to retire in WI. I am curious, but it crashed my computer.

Thanks!

$1,192,724


$1.2-something for PA, which is about what I hope to have in my 401k, in addition to DH's pension plus our SS.

To be honest though, they misspelled Virginia (Virgina), so I can't take this article seriously. 

[Deleted]

Feb 13, 2019 10:20:53 GMT -5 countrygirl2 said:

I don't see its that out of line if you want a decent retirement.  As hubs said we had goals but if you can't meet them you will retire on what you have no matter how much it is.

But retiring with a lot less will not be a great retirement, but of course you will do it, you have to.

My mom did not retire with a million.  Maybe she'll be living on dog food later, but for now, 7 years it at age 72 she seems to have it pretty good.  She spends half her winters in Hawaii, and takes at least 2 other big trips a years and some smaller ones.  Drives a nice vehicle, has a nice house....She's cheap, but it doesn't matter how much money she had, she'd always be like that.  If something is at a garage sale for $.50, she'll insist on getting it for a quarter.  It's just how she is.

[hoops902]

That article also isn't including any SS from the looks of it.  It's just a "what you need" not necessarily "where it comes from".

[giramomma]

Feb 13, 2019 9:59:51 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Uh huh, because everywhere in NYS is as expensive as NYC.

And nobody has any other sources of income, like SS, or pensions.

I'm 42 and SS is telling me to expect 70% of expected benefit.

I'm imagining when I actually qualify, it will be 50%.

I don't know that 12K/year is enough to make a huge difference in a standard of living, given what inflation will be 20-40 years down the road.

That won't even be enough to cover my retiree health insurance  through work, actually. 

I'm also still holding my breath with my pensions. Republican lawmakers have been toying with getting rid of our pensions for the last 6 years. Paying for studies to be done and what not.

The *only* reason why I'm feeling more secure about that is we have a democrat in office, and he can't be voted out for 4 years. That will put me at close to 10 years before qualifying for my pension. When lawmakers decide that our state really needs good roads, and they cant fund pensions and roads, I'm hoping by then I'll be close/old enough to be grandfathered into any new system.

Private sector pensions aren't always a sure thing, either.

Even without the kids, I'm betting that our retirement spending will likely go up..at least for the first years.. We've been putting off work on the house except for needs like replacing leaking water heaters, new window treatments (ours will be 40ish years old by the time we replace), new furniture (though, I'll admit it's not a need to replace some of our college furniture when we are 60). I'm also spending like $50 a year on my hobbies. I anticipate that will also go back up. DH's hobby spending is the same. We aren't traveling as much now, because of the kids' schedule. I'm sure that will go up. And we'll still have a minimally a 12K/year health insurance bill.

This also doesn't take into account what we'll need to spend on health care. If I need longer term care, I want one of those nice facilities, not a gov't run nursing home. Unfortunately, neither DH nor I come from good stock where everyone is completely healthy until their 90s and then they just die nicely in their sleep. There's histories of heart issues, cancer, etc.

[bean29]

Feb 13, 2019 11:07:57 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Feb 13, 2019 9:59:51 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Uh huh, because everywhere in NYS is as expensive as NYC.

And nobody has any other sources of income, like SS, or pensions.

I'm 42 and SS is telling me to expect 70% of expected benefit.

I'm imagining when I actually qualify, it will be 50%.

I don't know that 12K/year is enough to make a huge difference in a standard of living, given what inflation will be 20-40 years down the road.

That won't even be enough to cover my retiree health insurance  through work, actually. 

I'm also still holding my breath with my pensions. Republican lawmakers have been toying with getting rid of our pensions for the last 6 years. Paying for studies to be done and what not.

The *only* reason why I'm feeling more secure about that is we have a democrat in office, and he can't be voted out for 4 years. That will put me at close to 10 years before qualifying for my pension. When lawmakers decide that our state really needs good roads, and they cant fund pensions and roads, I'm hoping by then I'll be close/old enough to be grandfathered into any new system.

Private sector pensions aren't always a sure thing, either.

Even without the kids, I'm betting that our retirement spending will likely go up..at least for the first years.. We've been putting off work on the house except for needs like replacing leaking water heaters, new window treatments (ours will be 40ish years old by the time we replace), new furniture (though, I'll admit it's not a need to replace some of our college furniture when we are 60). I'm also spending like $50 a year on my hobbies. I anticipate that will also go back up. DH's hobby spending is the same. We aren't traveling as much now, because of the kids' schedule. I'm sure that will go up. And we'll still have a minimally a 12K/year health insurance bill.

This also doesn't take into account what we'll need to spend on health care. If I need longer term care, I want one of those nice facilities, not a gov't run nursing home. Unfortunately, neither DH nor I come from good stock where everyone is completely healthy until their 90s and then they just die nicely in their sleep. There's histories of heart issues, cancer, etc.

See, and I don't want all my money spent on Nursing home care.  I'd rather they kill me off and take whatever $$ I have left.

I guess they have no way to know how much SS people will qualify for, so they can't add it to the projections.  I think we will make it even if I don't add any $$, but I will be adding to my investments every year.  We also have two "investment" properties, and the business which should generate about $200,000 or more...but I don't like to add that to my numbers b/c if my kids want to take over it makes getting access to the $$ difficult.

[giramomma]

Feb 13, 2019 11:33:09 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Feb 13, 2019 11:07:57 GMT -5 giramomma said:

See, and I don't want all my money spent on Nursing home care.  I'd rather they kill me off and take whatever $$ I have left.

I suppose I wouldn't want that either. But if it's just me, and I'm like 82, I think I'd really like one of those assisted living places at that point. Personally, I don't think I'm going to be one of those old people that's like "I love cleaning, lawn mowing, and shoveling."  I won't need a 1800 sq foot house.

The place by my house even has a room with a few looms in it. I've been dying to learn how to weave one one of those suckers since I was like 10. It's on a bus route, so I can still get out and about. It's just that I won't have to cook, and will get some help if I need it.

I also think likely it will be good solution, too for the kids. They likely won't be in places in their lives where it will be easy to check on me/visit me ..in person. And I'd rather move into a place than have one of the kids feel like that HAD to check in on me simply because they were the only kid in town...and harbor resentment towards their sibs that moved away.

[Value Buy]

Is this based on per person or couples?
In our case, both Indiana or Florida pretty much is covered by the estimate for a couple, at least until we hit the nursing home years

[tallguy]

Feb 13, 2019 9:55:35 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

Feb 13, 2019 9:51:32 GMT -5 tallguy said:

I really dislike articles like that.  What you need is not a function of what they think the average person spends.  It is a function of what you spend.  I can easily get by on under half of what they claim is the required living costs.  Have for years.  

I don't see anything that says it is the "required" costs...it's the cost of living there...some will be higher and some will be lower.  

You may not like it, but ANY article that deals with people in any way is going to run into the same problem...not every person is precisely the same so any generalizations or statistics used won't apply to most people.

I looked at my state (Washington) specifically.  It said (bolding mine):

Washington
How much you need to retire: $1,341,350
In the state of Washington, the average retired resident is required to spend about $53,654 per year to cover living costs.  The average annual cost for utilities is a fairly low $3,254.

[hoops902]

Feb 13, 2019 12:12:54 GMT -5 tallguy said:

Feb 13, 2019 9:55:35 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

I don't see anything that says it is the "required" costs...it's the cost of living there...some will be higher and some will be lower.  

You may not like it, but ANY article that deals with people in any way is going to run into the same problem...not every person is precisely the same so any generalizations or statistics used won't apply to most people.

I looked at my state (Washington) specifically.  It said (bolding mine):

Washington
How much you need to retire: $1,341,350
In the state of Washington, the average retired resident is required to spend about $53,654 per year to cover living costs.  The average annual cost for utilities is a fairly low $3,254.

Ok, and that part is probably 100% true.  The AVERAGE retired resident is required to spend that much to cover their living costs.  There's a big difference between having "required costs to retire" and saying the average person has living costs which require them to spend $X.  Nothing about that statement says that people retire must pay that every year (and honestly, the phrasing they use actually seems much more accurate than the phrasing they usually use in these articles...I thought it was kind of nice to see them point out that it's average).

I guess I see a big difference between saying "this is a required cost you will have to pay" and "the average person has put themselves into a position where they're required to pay this amount".  

[tallguy]

Feb 13, 2019 12:17:31 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

Feb 13, 2019 12:12:54 GMT -5 tallguy said:

I looked at my state (Washington) specifically.  It said (bolding mine):

Ok, and that part is probably 100% true.  The AVERAGE retired resident is required to spend that much to cover their living costs.  There's a big difference between having "required costs to retire" and saying the average person has living costs which require them to spend $X.  Nothing about that statement says that people retire must pay that every year (and honestly, the phrasing they use actually seems much more accurate than the phrasing they usually use in these articles...I thought it was kind of nice to see them point out that it's average).

I guess I see a big difference between saying "this is a required cost you will have to pay" and "the average person has put themselves into a position where they're required to pay this amount".  

But that is my point.  The language is terrible.  They don't say, "Based on what the average retiree spends, this is how much you should have if your profile is similar."  Their number is not what they claim.  It is not EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED to retire in your state.  Their number is grossly inadequate for some, and grossly overstated for others.  This of course brings me back to my original criticism of these articles:

What you need is not a function of what they think the average person spends.  It is a function of what you spend.

[Deleted]

As I'm in Winter mode.  The whole average thing makes me chuckle.  The AVERAGE temperature in my state in January is 20 degrees.  I don't think it ever was 20 degrees this January.  It was 40 above and 40 below a lot though.

I take all these articles with a grain of salt.  I shouldn't be able to afford 2 kids, after all just one kid costs an average of 250K to raise to adulthood!  I certainly wouldn't be taking them on trips to Hawaii and Alaskan cruises, but yet here I am. 

[NastyWoman]

Feb 13, 2019 9:59:51 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Uh huh, because everywhere in NYS is as expensive as NYC.

And nobody has any other sources of income, like SS, or pensions.

 or everyone in CA spends ~$34k for housing every year. For home owners Prop 13 takes care of that. Heck I don't even spend anything close to that amount in total annually and I live in the most expensive area of CA

[Deleted]

Feb 13, 2019 10:47:10 GMT -5 steph08 said:

Feb 13, 2019 10:40:15 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Can someone tell me how much it says I need to retire in WI. I am curious, but it crashed my computer.

Thanks!

$1,192,724


$1.2-something for PA, which is about what I hope to have in my 401k, in addition to DH's pension plus our SS.

To be honest though, they misspelled Virginia (Virgina), so I can't take this article seriously. 

I react the same way to that kind of thing.

[Deleted]

I live in one of the least expensive states. As things stand now, I won't have $1 million saved when I retire. Oh well. 

I will have a pension. It's very well funded. Uniquely so. I just hope and pray that nobody in power gets any strange ideas about my employer's retirement funds.

Health insurance is included in the retirement benefits my employer offers. I hope and pray that doesn't change drastically also.

All I can do is prepare the best I can and save as much as I can without totally sucking all the joy out of life in the present.

[resolution]

Interesting that it is assuming that no one has paid off their house prior to retirement.

Maryland

How much you need to retire: $1,615,069

The wealthy Mid-Atlantic state of Maryland is home to sky-high annual housing costs averaging $31,169 — just three states require residents to pay more for shelter. That, along with expensive $8,572 yearly transportation fees, contribute to overall cost-of-living expenses of $64,603 per year.

[Deleted]

Feb 13, 2019 16:36:03 GMT -5 resolution said:

Interesting that it is assuming that no one has paid off their house prior to retirement.

Maryland

How much you need to retire: $1,615,069

The wealthy Mid-Atlantic state of Maryland is home to sky-high annual housing costs averaging $31,169 — just three states require residents to pay more for shelter. That, along with expensive $8,572 yearly transportation fees, contribute to overall cost-of-living expenses of $64,603 per year.

And that adds a lot to that "minimum savings needed" number if you're paying a mortgage/rent throughout retirement.

Or are you supposed to put a dollar amount to all this stuff and count it as "savings".  Paid off house = X dollars/state savings.  Each 10K of SS or pension expected = 250K savings...

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Feb 13, 2019 10:47:10 GMT -5 steph08 said:

Feb 13, 2019 10:40:15 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Can someone tell me how much it says I need to retire in WI. I am curious, but it crashed my computer.

Thanks!

$1,192,724


$1.2-something for PA, which is about what I hope to have in my 401k, in addition to DH's pension plus our SS.

To be honest though, they misspelled Virginia (Virgina), so I can't take this article seriously. 

lol 😜


Also

Wondering if per person or household?

[Deleted]

I'll have to tell almost all of the retirees in Alabama to go back to work.  Very few have over a million saved.

I don't have a million saved, but I will get what they say I need per year from SS and my pension alone.  DH also has SS.  I have about $450,000 in retirement funds.  My Medicare supplement seems pretty good and pretty cheap ($164 for the two of us including Part D with no doughnut hole).  

Somehow we will muddle through.