For Couples Nearing “Retirement on a Shoestring”
5 Things to do for a better retirement
Before going any further, I think it is essential to identify who I am writing for. According to USA Facts, few households have savings greater than $100,000. Here are the percentages of people with $100,000 or more:
For the mathematically challenged, this chart means that approximately 64% to 69% of households over the age of 65 have less than $100,000 in retirement savings.
To make the point more meaningful, in 4 Signs $250,000 Won’t Be Enough to Retire, we learn that only 28.8% of people 65 and older have $250,000 or more in savings.
We now know that 71.2% of people 65 and older have less than $250,000.
It should be noted that I am using median “household” savings as opposed to individual savings. One thing that should immediately jump out is the significant drop in savings for ages 75 and older.
Note: I am writing this for couples (not singles) nearing retirement because their issues are somewhat different from those of a single person.
The Big Issue
Retiring with less than $250,000 in savings (71.2% of people aged 65 and older) is not actually a huge problem. Even if you are part of the 64% of households…
