这里面四个案例，三个惨兮兮。一个非常励志，他60万块钱，七年前拿出40万多买了几个低收入租房，房租收入8 万，现在做房东和房客的人生导师，还有其他丰富多彩的活动。 这里面的人，社会安全金只有1 千多，不知道为什么那么少。 从励志哥的故事看，如果退休后有八万收入就很够了。就是200 万的portfolio without any contribution from ssn. 如果两个人社会保险6 万，自己存款50万就可以了。
这里面四个案例，三个惨兮兮。一个非常励志，他60万块钱，七年前拿出40万多买了几个低收入租房，房租收入8 万，现在做房东和房客的人生导师，还有其他丰富多彩的活动。 这里面的人，社会安全金只有1 千多，不知道为什么那么少。 从励志哥的故事看，如果退休后有八万收入就很够了。就是200 万的portfolio without any contribution from ssn. 如果两个人社会保险6 万，自己存款50万就可以了。
https://www.reddit.com/r/leanfire/comments/120m0rx/heres_what_retirement_with_less_than_1_million/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/retirement-under-1-million-america-846a6ab6?mod=hp_lead_pos10 Many Americans dream of saving $1 million for retirement. Most fall far short of that. The typical family’s 401(k) and IRA-type accounts come to less than half that goal in the years approaching retirement age, according to the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute. Total household balances in retirement accounts for those 55 to 64 years old are $413,814 on average, according to its estimates based on 2019 data, the most recent available. There is nothing magical about $1 million, but the less one saves, the bigger the risk that unforeseen shocks or the setbacks of life can derail your plans. Retiring on less than $1 million can bring greater anxiety about outliving your money, say retirees and financial advisers. “For many, the expectation of retirement doesn’t match the facts of their everyday financial lives,” said Larry Raffone, chief executive of Edelman Financial Engines. So what does retiring with less than $1 million look like? To find out we spoke in depth with five retirees with savings ranging from roughly $240,000 to $800,000. They describe what keeps them up at night—health, hurricanes and heating bills—and what has brought the greatest joys to these years. Dana and Elsie Jones Savings and Investments: $411,000 Annual spending: $50,000 Dana and Elsie Jones hoped to become snowbirds in retirement, living half the year in Florida. Due to health problems, the couple remain full-time residents of Houlton, Maine, a town of about 6,000 that is a few miles from the Canadian border. “It’s a community that is like a family,” said Ms. Jones, 75, a former billing clerk at a local power and water company, who used to phone neighbors when she saw their water bills spike to suggest checking for leaks. “Some find that overwhelming or nosy, but that is just the way life is in a small town,” she said. Mr. Jones, 70, retired in 2017 as a respiratory therapist at Houlton’s hospital. Ms. Jones retired a year later. The couple intended to spend winters in Florida, near their grandchildren. But around the time Mr. Jones retired, he began experiencing cognitive problems, making travel difficult. In 2020, Ms. Jones was diagnosed with melanoma in her eye. “Our retirement plans certainly changed from what we initially envisioned,” said Ms. Jones, who is now cancer-free. Mr. Jones’s retirement account took a hit in 2008 and never recovered. Spooked by the S&P 500’s 38.49% decline in 2008, he sold his stocks and invested in a stable value fund that earned about 1% a year, said the couple’s son-in-law, Jon Older, a doctor who has managed the portfolio since 2018. Dr. Older moved 35% of the balance into a low-cost stock index fund and the rest into an intermediate Treasury bond index fund. Worth $129,000 in March 2018, the balance rose to $146,000 in September 2020 but is now $111,000, due to the market’s downturn and withdrawals for items including car and roof repairs. The couple plans to use the rest of the money for unexpected expenses. Each month, they earn $2,500 in Social Security, plus Ms. Jones’s $1,877 pension, the current value of which is about $300,000. They live in a 13-room Victorian house they purchased in 1997 for about $37,000. A relic of Houlton’s timber baron days, it has hardwood floors, 10-foot ceilings and a grand piano Mr. Jones, a former church choir director, played before his health declined. To save on heating bills, the Joneses turn down the thermostat to 60 degrees in winter and mainly live in two rooms they heat with a pellet stove and a heat pump. They put $600 a month into their “house account” to cover expenses including home insurance, the property tax bill, and their heating bill, which runs about $2,500 a year. They donate $400 a month to their church, spend $350 a month on groceries, and owe $300 a month on a $30,000 home-equity loan. While the couple enjoys eating out, they say many of Houlton’s restaurants closed during the pandemic and haven’t reopened. Ms. Jones grew up on a nearby farm with sheep, cows and fresh vegetables, but no indoor plumbing. “We were poor but I didn’t know we were poor,” she said. She studied to be a teacher, but returned to the Houlton area to work in a plywood mill when her mother got sick. She also helped harvest neighbors’ potato fields. They own 3 acres bordering the land Ms. Jones grew up on. “I’d like to put a little cabin there beside my mother’s property,” she said. Janet Gottlieb Sailian Savings and investments: $240,000 Annual spending: $38,000 Janet Gottlieb Sailian says a sailing trip she took from Canada to the Bahamas after 9/11 prepared her for the ups and downs of retirement. While living on a 37-foot boat, she and her former husband encountered 30-knot winds, the wreckage of Ground Zero while passing Manhattan, and then the calm blue water in the Caribbean. “It’s important to be flexible and resilient,” said Ms. Sailian, 70. “Sometimes, you start out with plan A or B, but end up with plans C or D. Every day is an adventure.” Since retiring in 2019, the dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada has navigated the pandemic and inflation. The stock market downturn wiped away 20% of her nest egg, which is now worth about $240,000. The decline “is very alarming to me,” said Ms. Sailian, who said the weak Canadian dollar has reduced the amount she gets when converting her savings to U.S. dollars. “I don’t look at my holdings often. It’s not good for my mental health.” A bigger blow came in September, when Hurricane Ian destroyed swaths of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., where Ms. Sailian lives half the year with her partner, Martin Le Blanc, 77, in a home he owns. The couple’s second-floor living quarters were spared, but the storm destroyed a ground-floor apartment, a garage, two cars and damaged the pool cage. “Again, it’s plan B and C. What we thought our retirement was going to be was upended,” said Ms. Sailian, who typically divides her time between Florida, Nova Scotia and Toronto, where she babysits her grandsons, ages 4 and 9. With life in flux, Ms. Sailian canceled her regular spring trip to Toronto. She said she normally spends about $38,000 a year but is cutting costs. Her monthly income consists of $1,400 from Social Security and Canada’s equivalent, and $1,400 from her retirement accounts. Last year, Ms. Sailian, a former communications director at an independent school, a university and education associations, earned $5,000 freelancing in that field. She hopes to work more this year. The co-author with Mr. Le Blanc of a book about his life, she also writes for a Canadian magazine and is on the board of the Estero Island Historic Society in Fort Myers Beach. She and another board member are trying to restore the organization’s archives and century-old building and are organizing an exhibit for fall. In addition to paying $1,000 a month to Mr. Le Blanc toward housing costs, Ms. Sailien spends about $1,000 on groceries and utilities, up from $800. She recently bargained the couple’s monthly cable and cellphone bill to $300 from $400 and cut her restaurant budget to $70 a month from $150. To save on gas, she and Mr. Le Blanc drive to the grocery store only on days when they pick up their mail nearby. “There’s no frivolous driving around,” she said. She plans to spend $2,000 on airfare this year, down from $4,000. When in Toronto, she rents an apartment for about $1,500 a month. Ms. Sailian said she and Mr. Le Blanc, both married and divorced twice, keep their money separate. She said she may receive an inheritance from mother, 99, but isn’t counting on it. Jordan Modell Savings and Investments: $158,000, plus about $600,000 in rental properties Annual Spending: $80,000 Jordan Modell keeps almost as packed a schedule in retirement as he did working long hours as head of data and analytics for a large advertising agency. With one key difference. “I answer only to myself,” said Mr. Modell, 63. He is pursuing a doctorate in theology and philosophy for his own enjoyment. The online program, which costs him about $4,000 a year, keeps him busy with hundreds of pages of reading each week and writing several 20-page papers every semester. In the late summer and early fall, Mr. Modell volunteers about 15 to 20 hours a week organizing a music festival in Asbury Park, N.J., where he lives. When he’s not planning Asbury Park PorchFest, he and his girlfriend might catch a live band at a local establishment. Mr. Modell is using his retirement to pursue his long-held dream of being a landlord to low-income tenants. About seven years ago, a year after he retired, he withdrew about $600,000 from his portfolio and bought five houses in lower-income areas of New Jersey. The Section 8 rentals generate about $80,000 a year after taxes in income. Tenants sometimes call to request an extension on their portion of the rent, but also to ask his advice about relationship problems or to seek referrals to food banks. Responding to tenants’ requests can sometimes feel like a full workday, he said. The divorced father of two has about $158,000 invested in a brokerage account and has a mortgage on the Asbury Park apartment where he lives. His working-class upbringing in Harlem, N.Y., taught him to live simply, he said. Mr. Modell thinks he has mastered frugal travel and entertainment by traveling off-peak, using Airbnb, and eating what the locals eat wherever he is. He said he has also mastered the art of nursing a beer for two hours while watching music. Mr. Modell lives off the $80,000 in rental income and spends about $13,000 of it on travel every year, his passion. He travels at least one week a month for leisure, and has visited 104 countries. A recent stop: Kosrae, an island in Micronesia. His domestic travel is often free, as he does consulting work for nonprofits in exchange for room and board. He has no credit-card debt or auto loans for his two cars. He pays about $10,000 a year to insure his properties and vehicles. His advice for other retirees seeking their purpose: Don’t sit around or expect one hobby or organization to fulfill all of your needs. Retirees have the ability to work with the organizations they choose, and they should try something else if they aren’t happy. “Retirement gives you the freedom to walk away,” he said. Chris Ravenna Savings and Investments: $800,000 Annual spending: $20,000 Chris Ravenna started working around age 17, and spent most of his career as a tool-and-die maker. He expected to keep at it until age 65, but changed his mind a few years ago and retired at 60 from his factory job. His father had recently died of Covid-19, and the heightened political climate at work during the pandemic made it seem time. Calling it quits proved harder than he imagined. “Not having a job is a big adjustment,” he said. At first, he continued to get up before dawn as though he still had to make the 6 a.m. shift. Eventually, he managed to start waking up around 9 a.m. and will now sometimes stay up until midnight watching television. He often starts his day doing some projects around the Bloomington, Ind., home he purchased some 40 years ago for about $33,000. The original mortgage had a 13% interest rate, which he refinanced to around 6% about a decade ago and soon paid off. He estimates his home is now worth about $150,000. Mr. Ravenna is single and has no children. He earned about $50,000 a year from his factory job and always aimed to save at least 20% of his income, largely by keeping his expenses low. He wears his clothes for decades and rarely purchases new ones, though he treated himself to some new socks last July. “I get buyer’s remorse real quick,” he said. He spends about $20,000 a year with the bulk of the money going to car and home insurance. He mostly cooks at home, doesn’t travel and has no debt. Mr. Ravenna saved about $800,000, mostly in a 401(k), which is invested in the stock market with a 60% stock, 40% bond allocation. He likes to buy stocks during stock market downturns, such as in 2008. He hopes to finish building a motorcycle he started about 15 years ago, and spends free time watching YouTube videos on how to construct the bike. He is also thinking about adopting a dog from a nearby shelter. After seeing his late mother suffer from dementia, Mr. Ravenna worries about his future as a single person should he develop memory issues. He’s counting on his community to help if need be. “I’ve got great neighbors so hopefully it all works out,” he said.
要一直做到67才退休的话确实用不了很多钱
顶一顶 同问
401K 每年交三万多（包括公司的），工作三十年左右就可以存差不多一百万，四十年就是一百多万。六十五退休，假设活九十岁，每年可以拿四五万。一个月三四千一点生活费。假设房贷已经付清。应该差不多。还有SSN的钱没算。
通货膨胀会让这些安排成为笑话，这样退休的人，很快就会怀疑人生，白发苍苍得重新去打工。😄 现在Utility一个月都上千了，全美平均退休金记得只有1800左右，勉强够Utility和天天做饭维持温饱。 10年后两口子的退休金，加一起估计都不够付Utility；只能去慈善机构领取免费食物。 20年后呢？自己想想。
卖大房换小公寓，够住就行，还不操心yard
一个月三四千现在看着挺美好；高通胀下，过几年这点钱就成为毛毛雨了。 现在Carl Jr 一个汉堡都$13了。
They donate $400 a month to their church, spend $350 a month on groceries, and owe $300 a month on a $30,000 home-equity loan.
比起华人的富婆们，内心多么富足。
专业灌鸡汤。
实际上通货膨胀，快民不聊生了
稍微正常一点的，21岁毕业工作个三四十年，怎么也能舒服地退休了，就怕嫁/娶个不靠谱的，半途离婚的，吸毒酗酒的。
哈哈，幸福社会幸福人。
人民日报的腔调
很多是做到70延迟拿的就更多了
爱玛，一个月70，买三个普通菜刚好。 或者汉堡套餐买3个。
感兴趣。蹲一个答案
其它屁都没有还住大豪斯，Utility一个月都上千， 逗逼吗， 这种只能是卖掉大豪斯然后买个最小的康豆，还是过的去
这里面的人，社会安全金只有1 千多，不知道为什么那么少。
从励志哥的故事看，如果退休后有八万收入就很够了。就是200 万的portfolio without any contribution from ssn. 如果两个人社会保险6 万，自己存款50万就可以了。
四十多万的房子能有八万的收入？这就是份全职工作啊，不够操心的
想当初我2大行李箱装得可是满满的。
羽绒服、床具、浴巾、春夏衣物……那个年代＂能省就省，绝不乱花一分钱＂（北美广告语）
平均寿命到80, 最多85, 18年 有 SSN 加 100万 只要身体健康 确实够了
安乐死要什麽钱？自己攒一堆安眠药就可以了 最多再加一杯烈酒 唉
给低收入的section 8房客当人生导师得确实有这个善心，耐心和能力，不是一般人能干的。 8万房租，除去修缮，除去空房，偶尔不交租的，按银行算得减少30%。
這個死法一點不安樂。
是的，reddit mean起來比華人大媽戰鬥力強多了。 而且好多英文梗，真的是，服氣的。
自己做菜，不要去餐馆吃。院子里种点蔬菜。平时只需要买肉类。
种菜其实比买菜贵吧
谁家utility 都上千？
不贵的。说贵的那是不会种菜。很多东西其实都不需要买。多看看视频别人怎么做的。
就是，不是会员都看不了这个文章。
靠ss 养老的是穷人，穷人工作时的收入应该蛮低，所以退休能拿到的应该不会很多，能拿到最高一半就不错了
401 K 上限2万多一年，不是3万多。而且不是所有公司有match，或者要做满几年才能拿到match。
是的，我知道的工资不高的，工作个三十年，退休时连最高的一半都拿不到的。
一般来说，这是年薪50万左右的才能一年有3万存入401K吧，普通人的年薪没有这么高吧。也不是所有公司都给match 的，match的比例也不一样。尤其是刚工作时年薪相对会低些，而且存入401K的也基本上只是是自己加上公司给的。随着年龄增长，经济条件好了，也许存的比例会多些。再说也不是谁都能工作30年的。你这没有代表性。这里讨论的是普通人、穷人，如果你是来炫耀的，都说了，贵妇请绕道。
哈哈，真相了
对呀，平均年龄也就77岁。十年100万，一年十万也够了。
utility 1000? 显摆大房子是吧，把房子卖了养老就够了
只想说，气费电费每个月基本都不超过300刀，挺大的独立屋，坐标中西部。
对！
加州菜便宜啊😂，不花这心思了
Utilities 还包括Internet网络费，手机费。 这两项平均下来每月300不算多吧（手机没几年就要换）。
我也是。。。。。
是银行账户100万，401K里面还有3米。你满意了吧
三，四十年前工资是多少？
谁给个 summary
不是俩行李箱塞满来的吗？
怕万一不专业搞砸了咋办？
https://www.reddit.com/r/leanfire/comments/120m0rx/heres_what_retirement_with_less_than_1_million/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/retirement-under-1-million-america-846a6ab6?mod=hp_lead_pos10
Many Americans dream of saving $1 million for retirement. Most fall far short of that.
The typical family’s 401(k) and IRA-type accounts come to less than half that goal in the years approaching retirement age, according to the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute. Total household balances in retirement accounts for those 55 to 64 years old are $413,814 on average, according to its estimates based on 2019 data, the most recent available.
There is nothing magical about $1 million, but the less one saves, the bigger the risk that unforeseen shocks or the setbacks of life can derail your plans. Retiring on less than $1 million can bring greater anxiety about outliving your money, say retirees and financial advisers.
“For many, the expectation of retirement doesn’t match the facts of their everyday financial lives,” said Larry Raffone, chief executive of Edelman Financial Engines.
So what does retiring with less than $1 million look like? To find out we spoke in depth with five retirees with savings ranging from roughly $240,000 to $800,000. They describe what keeps them up at night—health, hurricanes and heating bills—and what has brought the greatest joys to these years.
Dana and Elsie Jones
Savings and Investments: $411,000 Annual spending: $50,000
Dana and Elsie Jones hoped to become snowbirds in retirement, living half the year in Florida. Due to health problems, the couple remain full-time residents of Houlton, Maine, a town of about 6,000 that is a few miles from the Canadian border.
“It’s a community that is like a family,” said Ms. Jones, 75, a former billing clerk at a local power and water company, who used to phone neighbors when she saw their water bills spike to suggest checking for leaks. “Some find that overwhelming or nosy, but that is just the way life is in a small town,” she said.
Mr. Jones, 70, retired in 2017 as a respiratory therapist at Houlton’s hospital. Ms. Jones retired a year later. The couple intended to spend winters in Florida, near their grandchildren. But around the time Mr. Jones retired, he began experiencing cognitive problems, making travel difficult. In 2020, Ms. Jones was diagnosed with melanoma in her eye.
“Our retirement plans certainly changed from what we initially envisioned,” said Ms. Jones, who is now cancer-free.
Mr. Jones’s retirement account took a hit in 2008 and never recovered. Spooked by the S&P 500’s 38.49% decline in 2008, he sold his stocks and invested in a stable value fund that earned about 1% a year, said the couple’s son-in-law, Jon Older, a doctor who has managed the portfolio since 2018. Dr. Older moved 35% of the balance into a low-cost stock index fund and the rest into an intermediate Treasury bond index fund.
Worth $129,000 in March 2018, the balance rose to $146,000 in September 2020 but is now $111,000, due to the market’s downturn and withdrawals for items including car and roof repairs. The couple plans to use the rest of the money for unexpected expenses. Each month, they earn $2,500 in Social Security, plus Ms. Jones’s $1,877 pension, the current value of which is about $300,000. They live in a 13-room Victorian house they purchased in 1997 for about $37,000. A relic of Houlton’s timber baron days, it has hardwood floors, 10-foot ceilings and a grand piano Mr. Jones, a former church choir director, played before his health declined.
To save on heating bills, the Joneses turn down the thermostat to 60 degrees in winter and mainly live in two rooms they heat with a pellet stove and a heat pump.
They put $600 a month into their “house account” to cover expenses including home insurance, the property tax bill, and their heating bill, which runs about $2,500 a year.
They donate $400 a month to their church, spend $350 a month on groceries, and owe $300 a month on a $30,000 home-equity loan. While the couple enjoys eating out, they say many of Houlton’s restaurants closed during the pandemic and haven’t reopened.
Ms. Jones grew up on a nearby farm with sheep, cows and fresh vegetables, but no indoor plumbing. “We were poor but I didn’t know we were poor,” she said. She studied to be a teacher, but returned to the Houlton area to work in a plywood mill when her mother got sick. She also helped harvest neighbors’ potato fields.
They own 3 acres bordering the land Ms. Jones grew up on. “I’d like to put a little cabin there beside my mother’s property,” she said.
Janet Gottlieb Sailian
Savings and investments: $240,000 Annual spending: $38,000
Janet Gottlieb Sailian says a sailing trip she took from Canada to the Bahamas after 9/11 prepared her for the ups and downs of retirement.
While living on a 37-foot boat, she and her former husband encountered 30-knot winds, the wreckage of Ground Zero while passing Manhattan, and then the calm blue water in the Caribbean.
“It’s important to be flexible and resilient,” said Ms. Sailian, 70. “Sometimes, you start out with plan A or B, but end up with plans C or D. Every day is an adventure.”
Since retiring in 2019, the dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada has navigated the pandemic and inflation. The stock market downturn wiped away 20% of her nest egg, which is now worth about $240,000.
The decline “is very alarming to me,” said Ms. Sailian, who said the weak Canadian dollar has reduced the amount she gets when converting her savings to U.S. dollars. “I don’t look at my holdings often. It’s not good for my mental health.”
A bigger blow came in September, when Hurricane Ian destroyed swaths of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., where Ms. Sailian lives half the year with her partner, Martin Le Blanc, 77, in a home he owns. The couple’s second-floor living quarters were spared, but the storm destroyed a ground-floor apartment, a garage, two cars and damaged the pool cage.
“Again, it’s plan B and C. What we thought our retirement was going to be was upended,” said Ms. Sailian, who typically divides her time between Florida, Nova Scotia and Toronto, where she babysits her grandsons, ages 4 and 9.
With life in flux, Ms. Sailian canceled her regular spring trip to Toronto.
She said she normally spends about $38,000 a year but is cutting costs.
Her monthly income consists of $1,400 from Social Security and Canada’s equivalent, and $1,400 from her retirement accounts.
Last year, Ms. Sailian, a former communications director at an independent school, a university and education associations, earned $5,000 freelancing in that field. She hopes to work more this year.
The co-author with Mr. Le Blanc of a book about his life, she also writes for a Canadian magazine and is on the board of the Estero Island Historic Society in Fort Myers Beach. She and another board member are trying to restore the organization’s archives and century-old building and are organizing an exhibit for fall.
In addition to paying $1,000 a month to Mr. Le Blanc toward housing costs, Ms. Sailien spends about $1,000 on groceries and utilities, up from $800. She recently bargained the couple’s monthly cable and cellphone bill to $300 from $400 and cut her restaurant budget to $70 a month from $150.
To save on gas, she and Mr. Le Blanc drive to the grocery store only on days when they pick up their mail nearby. “There’s no frivolous driving around,” she said.
She plans to spend $2,000 on airfare this year, down from $4,000. When in Toronto, she rents an apartment for about $1,500 a month. Ms. Sailian said she and Mr. Le Blanc, both married and divorced twice, keep their money separate. She said she may receive an inheritance from mother, 99, but isn’t counting on it.
Jordan Modell
Savings and Investments: $158,000, plus about $600,000 in rental properties Annual Spending: $80,000
Jordan Modell keeps almost as packed a schedule in retirement as he did working long hours as head of data and analytics for a large advertising agency.
With one key difference. “I answer only to myself,” said Mr. Modell, 63.
He is pursuing a doctorate in theology and philosophy for his own enjoyment. The online program, which costs him about $4,000 a year, keeps him busy with hundreds of pages of reading each week and writing several 20-page papers every semester.
In the late summer and early fall, Mr. Modell volunteers about 15 to 20 hours a week organizing a music festival in Asbury Park, N.J., where he lives. When he’s not planning Asbury Park PorchFest, he and his girlfriend might catch a live band at a local establishment.
Mr. Modell is using his retirement to pursue his long-held dream of being a landlord to low-income tenants. About seven years ago, a year after he retired, he withdrew about $600,000 from his portfolio and bought five houses in lower-income areas of New Jersey. The Section 8 rentals generate about $80,000 a year after taxes in income.
Tenants sometimes call to request an extension on their portion of the rent, but also to ask his advice about relationship problems or to seek referrals to food banks. Responding to tenants’ requests can sometimes feel like a full workday, he said.
The divorced father of two has about $158,000 invested in a brokerage account and has a mortgage on the Asbury Park apartment where he lives.
His working-class upbringing in Harlem, N.Y., taught him to live simply, he said. Mr. Modell thinks he has mastered frugal travel and entertainment by traveling off-peak, using Airbnb, and eating what the locals eat wherever he is. He said he has also mastered the art of nursing a beer for two hours while watching music.
Mr. Modell lives off the $80,000 in rental income and spends about $13,000 of it on travel every year, his passion. He travels at least one week a month for leisure, and has visited 104 countries. A recent stop: Kosrae, an island in Micronesia. His domestic travel is often free, as he does consulting work for nonprofits in exchange for room and board.
He has no credit-card debt or auto loans for his two cars. He pays about $10,000 a year to insure his properties and vehicles.
His advice for other retirees seeking their purpose: Don’t sit around or expect one hobby or organization to fulfill all of your needs. Retirees have the ability to work with the organizations they choose, and they should try something else if they aren’t happy.
“Retirement gives you the freedom to walk away,” he said.
Chris Ravenna
Savings and Investments: $800,000 Annual spending: $20,000
Chris Ravenna started working around age 17, and spent most of his career as a tool-and-die maker. He expected to keep at it until age 65, but changed his mind a few years ago and retired at 60 from his factory job.
His father had recently died of Covid-19, and the heightened political climate at work during the pandemic made it seem time. Calling it quits proved harder than he imagined.
“Not having a job is a big adjustment,” he said.
At first, he continued to get up before dawn as though he still had to make the 6 a.m. shift. Eventually, he managed to start waking up around 9 a.m. and will now sometimes stay up until midnight watching television.
He often starts his day doing some projects around the Bloomington, Ind., home he purchased some 40 years ago for about $33,000. The original mortgage had a 13% interest rate, which he refinanced to around 6% about a decade ago and soon paid off. He estimates his home is now worth about $150,000.
Mr. Ravenna is single and has no children.
He earned about $50,000 a year from his factory job and always aimed to save at least 20% of his income, largely by keeping his expenses low. He wears his clothes for decades and rarely purchases new ones, though he treated himself to some new socks last July.
“I get buyer’s remorse real quick,” he said.
He spends about $20,000 a year with the bulk of the money going to car and home insurance. He mostly cooks at home, doesn’t travel and has no debt.
Mr. Ravenna saved about $800,000, mostly in a 401(k), which is invested in the stock market with a 60% stock, 40% bond allocation. He likes to buy stocks during stock market downturns, such as in 2008.
He hopes to finish building a motorcycle he started about 15 years ago, and spends free time watching YouTube videos on how to construct the bike. He is also thinking about adopting a dog from a nearby shelter.
After seeing his late mother suffer from dementia, Mr. Ravenna worries about his future as a single person should he develop memory issues. He’s counting on his community to help if need be.
“I’ve got great neighbors so hopefully it all works out,” he said.
根据非营利组织员工福利研究所的数据，接近退休年龄时，典型家庭的401(k)和IRA类账户的余额不到这个目标的一半。根据该组织基于2019年数据的估计，55岁至64岁人群的养老账户总余额平均为413,814美元，这是目前最新的数据。
1百万美元对于退休并没有什么神奇之处，但储蓄越少，未料到的冲击或人生挫折对计划的破坏就越大。退休时不足1百万美元的情况可能会让退休人员和财务顾问更担心生活费用是否能得到保障。
“对于许多人来说，他们对退休的期望与他们日常生活中的现实并不相符。” Edelman Financial Engines的首席执行官拉里·拉弗恩（Larry Raffone）说道。
那么，退休储蓄不足1百万美元的情况会是怎样的呢？为了找到答案，我们深入采访了5位退休者，他们的储蓄范围从大约24万美元到80万美元不等。他们描述了让他们难以入眠的问题——健康、飓风和供暖费用——以及在这些年里带来最大喜悦的事情。
储蓄和投资：$411,000 年度支出：$50,000
达纳和艾尔西·琼斯希望在退休后成为雪鸟，每年在佛罗里达州生活半年。由于健康问题，这对夫妇仍然是缅因州霍尔顿市的全职居民，这是一个大约有6,000人口的城镇，距离加拿大边境几英里远。
“这是一个像家庭一样的社区，”现年75岁的琼斯女士说，她曾是当地电力和水公司的一个账单书记，曾经在看到邻居的水费飙升时打电话告诉他们要检查是否有漏水。“有些人会觉得这太过压抑或多管闲事，但这就是小城镇生活的方式，”她说。
70岁的琼斯先生于2017年在霍尔顿的一家医院担任呼吸治疗师时退休。琼斯女士一年后退休。
这对夫妇原本打算在佛罗里达州与孙子女们度过冬天。但在琼斯先生退休后不久，他开始出现认知问题，旅行变得困难。2020年，琼斯女士被诊断出患有眼部黑色素瘤。
“我们的退休计划肯定从最初的设想中改变了，”现在癌症已经治愈的琼斯女士说。
琼斯先生的退休账户在2008年受到了打击，从未恢复过来。受到2008年标普500指数下跌38.49%的惊吓，他卖掉了自己的股票并投资于一个稳定的价值基金，该基金每年收益约为1％，这对夫妇的女婿乔恩·奥尔德自2018年以来一直管理着这个投资组合。奥尔德博士将余额的35％移入低成本股票指数基金，其余部分移入中期国债指数基金。
这个投资组合在2018年3月价值为129,000美元，在2020年9月上升到146,000美元，但由于市场下滑和用于汽车和屋顶维修等项目的提款，现在降至111,000美元。夫妇俩计划用剩余的钱应对意外开支。
每个月，他们从社会保障中获得2,500美元，再加上琼斯女士的1,877美元的养老金，目前价值约为30万美元。
他们住在一座维多利亚式的13居室房子里，这栋房子是他们在1997年以约37,000美元购买的。这是霍尔顿伐木业巨头时代的遗迹，拥有硬木地板、10英尺高的天花板和琼斯先生的钢琴，他曾经是教堂唱诗班指挥，但由于健康问题而退役。
为了节省供暖费用，琼斯夫妇在冬天把温度调低到60度，主要生活在他们用木屑炉和热泵加热的两个房间里。
他们每月存入600美元的“房屋账户”来支付诸如家庭保险、物业税和供暖费用（大约每年2,500美元）等费用。
他们每月向教堂捐赠400美元，每月花费350美元购买杂货，并欠下一笔3万美元的房屋净值贷款，每月还款300美元。尽管夫妇俩喜欢外出就餐，但他们说许多霍尔顿的餐厅在疫情期间关闭了，并且还没有重新开放。 琼斯女士在附近的农场长大，养了绵羊、牛和新鲜蔬菜，但没有室内卫生间。
“我们很穷，但我不知道我们很穷，”她说。她学习成为一名教师，但当她的母亲生病时，她回到霍尔顿地区在一家胶合板厂工作。她还帮助收割邻居的土豆田。
他们拥有3英亩的土地，毗邻琼斯女士长大的土地。“我想在我母亲的土地旁边建一间小木屋，”她说。
储蓄和投资：240,000美元 年度支出：38,000美元
Janet Gottlieb Sailian表示，911事件后她从加拿大出发到巴哈马的一次航行旅行，为她的退休生活的起起伏伏做好了准备。
在一艘37英尺的船上生活期间，她和前夫遭遇了30节的风浪，在穿过曼哈顿时看到了Ground Zero的残骸，然后又看到了加勒比海的平静蓝色水域。
“灵活和有韧性很重要，”现年70岁的Sailian说。“有时你以A或B计划开始，但最终可能变成C或D计划。每一天都是一次冒险。”
自2019年退休以来，这位美国和加拿大的双重国籍者已经应对了疫情和通货膨胀。股市下滑导致她的储蓄被削减了20％，目前价值约为240,000美元。
Sailian说这种下降“让我非常担心”，她说疲软的加元降低了她将储蓄兑换成美元时的金额。“我不经常看我的持股。这对我的心理健康不利。”
更大的打击发生在9月份，当时飓风伊恩摧毁了佛罗里达州福特迈尔斯海滩的大片地区，Sailian与她的伴侣Martin Le Blanc在那里度过了一年的一半时间，Le Blanc拥有一栋房屋。这对夫妇的二楼住所幸免于难，但风暴摧毁了一个底楼公寓、一个车库、两辆汽车，并损坏了泳池围栏。
“再次，这是计划B和C。我们原本以为的退休生活被打乱了，” Sailian女士说。她通常在佛罗里达州，新斯科舍省和多伦多之间分配时间，在多伦多照顾4岁和9岁的孙子。
随着生活的变化，Sailian女士取消了她定期的去多伦多的春季旅行。
她说她通常一年花费约38,000美元，但现在正在削减开支。
她的月收入包括1400美元的社会保障金和加拿大等价物，以及1400美元的退休账户。
去年，曾在独立学校、大学和教育协会担任通讯主任的Sailian女士在该领域自由工作赚取了5000美元。她希望今年能够更多地工作。
作为与Le Blanc先生合著的一本书的作者，她还为一本加拿大杂志写作，并且是Estero Island Historic Society在Fort Myers Beach的董事会成员。她和另一位董事会成员正在努力恢复该组织的档案和百年老建筑，并正在组织一个秋季展览。
除了每月支付1000美元给Le Blanc先生的住房费用外，Sailien女士花费约1000美元购买食品和公用事业，比之前的800美元要多。她最近将夫妇每月的电缆和手机账单从400美元降低到300美元，并将餐厅预算从150美元降低到70美元。
为了节省汽油费，她和Le Blanc先生只在附近取邮件的日子开车去杂货店。“没有不必要的开车，”她说。
她计划今年花费2000美元购买机票，比之前的4000美元要少。在多伦多时，她每月租一间大约1500美元的公寓。 Sailian女士说她和Le Blanc先生都结过婚离过婚，保持他们的财务独立。她说她可能会从母亲那里继承财产，母亲现年99岁，但她不指望。
Regenerate response
储蓄和投资：15.8万美元，加上大约60万美元的出租物业 年度支出：8万美元
63岁的乔丹·莫德尔退休后的日程几乎和他在一家大型广告代理公司担任数据和分析主管时一样忙碌，唯一的区别是“我只回答自己的问题”，他说。
他正在攻读神学和哲学博士学位，以自我享受为目的。这个在线课程每年花费他约4000美元，每周需要阅读数百页的资料并在每学期写数篇20页的论文。
在晚夏和初秋，莫德尔先生每周会自愿工作15至20个小时，为他所在的新泽西州阿斯伯里公园组织音乐节。当他不在计划阿斯伯里公园露台音乐会时，他和女友会在当地的场所欣赏现场乐队演出。
莫德尔先生利用退休时间追寻他长期以来作为低收入租户房东的梦想。大约七年前，他退休后的一年从投资组合中提取了约60万美元，购买了新泽西州低收入地区的五所房屋。在税后，这些Section 8的租赁物业每年可以带来约8万美元的收入。
有时，租户会打电话要求延长付款期限，但也会请教他们的关系问题或向他寻求食品银行的推荐。他说回应租户的请求有时会感觉像是一整个工作日的时间。
这位有两个子女且已离婚的男子在哈莱姆的工人阶级家庭中长大，他说这教会了他过简朴的生活方式。莫德尔先生认为，通过在淡季旅行、使用Airbnb以及吃当地人吃的食物来控制旅行和娱乐方面的开支，他已经掌握了省钱的技巧。他说他还掌握了在看音乐的两个小时内慢慢品尝一杯啤酒的技巧。
莫德尔先生依靠每年8万美元的租金收入生活，并将其中大约1.3万美元用于他的爱好旅游。他每个月至少旅行一周，并已经访问了104个国家。最近的一次旅行是到密克罗尼西亚的科斯雷岛。他的国内旅行经常是免费的，因为他为非营利组织提供咨询服务，以换取食宿。
他没有信用卡债务或两辆车的汽车贷款。他每年支付约1万美元来保险他的房产和车辆。
他给其他寻求目标的退休人士的建议是：不要坐在那里或期望一个爱好或组织能满足你所有的需求。退休人士有能力与他们选择的组织一起工作，并且如果他们不开心，就应该尝试其他事情。
“退休让你有自由离开，”他说。
储蓄和投资：80万美元 年度支出：2万美元
Chris Ravenna 大约在17岁左右开始工作，并在大部分职业生涯中从事模具制造。他原本计划一直工作到65岁，但几年前改变了主意，从工厂工作中退休，退休时年龄为60岁。
他的父亲最近死于 Covid-19，疫情期间工作场所的紧张政治气氛让他感到是时候退休了。但他发现，要退休比他想象的要困难得多。
“没有工作是一个很大的调整，”他说。
起初，他仍旧会在天亮前起床，仿佛还需要上早上6点钟的班。最终，他设法开始在早上9点左右起床，现在有时会熬到午夜看电视。
他通常会在自己在印第安纳州布鲁明顿购买的房子周围进行一些项目。他大约40年前以约3.3万美元购买了这所房子。最初的抵押贷款利率为13%，他在约10年前将其再融资到约6%，并很快还清了。他估计自己的房子现在价值约为15万美元。
Ravenna先生单身，没有孩子。
他的工厂工作年收入约为5万美元，并始终力求至少节省20%的收入，主要是通过控制开支来实现。他会穿上几十年的衣服，很少购买新衣服，但去年7月他给自己买了一些新袜子。
“我很快就会有购买者的懊悔感，”他说。
他每年的支出约为2万美元，其中大部分钱用于购买汽车和住房保险。他大多在家里做饭，不旅游，没有债务。
克里斯·拉文纳拥有约80万美元的储蓄和投资，主要是在401(k)计划中，以60%的股票和40%的债券配置投资于股票市场。他喜欢在股市下跌时购买股票，比如在2008年。
他希望能完成他大约15年前开始制作的摩托车，业余时间喜欢看YouTube上有关如何制造摩托车的视频。他还在考虑从附近的收容所领养一只狗。
由于看到他已故的母亲患上痴呆症，拉文纳先生担心自己如果出现记忆问题的话，作为一个单身人士的未来。他指望他的社区在需要的时候提供帮助。
“我有很棒的邻居，希望一切都能顺利。”他说。