Читать книгу Retirement Planning For Dummies - Matthew Krantz - Страница 39

You might be wondering, “What does the spending of a typical American have to do with my retirement plan?” After all, if you’re like most people, you’ll work until you’re at least 65, and you assume that your spending habits will be different then.

Won't your need for money decrease over time? Let's fast-forward to your future and see how income and spending changes for households aged 65 or older. Check out the numbers in the “66-Year-Old” column in Table 2-2.

If all these numbers are wearing you out, here’s a rule of thumb: For retirement income, you typically need at least 80 percent of your pre-tax income in your working years. If you’re curious how accurate this rule is, read on.

So, how does life look different in retirement for most people? Here’s what happens to income and spending for a 66-year-old:

 Income falls dramatically (more dramatically than it looks at first). The drop of after-tax income to $45,463 is more jarring than it seems. Keep in mind that average after-tax earnings peak at $86,635 when workers are aged 45 to 54. Seeing income fall to about half that is an adjustment.

 The mix of income sources changes. Wages and salaries for people aged 65 and older drops to $17,129 a year. That’s down from $59,555 for all households. Meanwhile, Social Security and retirement savings pick up some — but not all — of the slack. People aged 65 and older bring in $25,425 a year from these retirement plans.

 The 80 percent rule is good (and conservative). It turns out that our typical 65-plus-year-old’s spending totals 66 percent of the typical American’s pre-tax income. Remember, the average household brought in $76,335 in pre-tax income. If you plan on spending 80 percent of your income in retirement, you’ll be okay in most cases.

 Housing costs fall (but not as much as you might think). Annual shelter costs still account for $16,723, or 18 percent of spending for the 65-plus set. You might expect this to be lower because most people at this age have paid off their mortgage. However, although 80 percent of those 65 and older are homeowners, 30 percent are still paying a mortgage. And 19 percent are paying rent. In other words, 49 percent of people at this age are either renting or paying a mortgage.

 Expenses do fall, but not by a huge amount. Total spending of the older set falls 17 percent to $50,178. Lower spending on some things, such as food and apparel, cuts spending even as healthcare expenses rise. Entertainment costs tend to be flat.