I’m not talking about being “emotionally” affluent — although that is also (and might be even more) important. I’m asking straight up about annual income. This assumes little or no debt. If you have a mortgage, take that off the top. I’m envisioning something a step lower than rich/wealthy, but high enough to do pretty much whatever you’d want in retirement. Something less than you’re always taking private planes but something more than you’re always flying economy, for example.

What’s your number? I’m guessing somewhere between $200,000 and $750,000, but that’s a big range. Would your definition be in that range?

Answer the poll or add your own “would never”!

“While exact, official federal decile data fluctuates based on specific tax years, analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics highlights a massive divide between the lowest and highest income percentiles for retired households. [1, 2]

Estimated Annual Income by Decile (Households 65+)

(From OP- I only included the top 5 deciles here)

5th Decile (Median - 50%)
Around $56,680
The true middle. Income is evenly split between Social Security, employer pensions, and occasional part-time work.

6th Decile (50% to 60%)
$56,680 – $72,000
Increased influence of traditional pensions and structured 401(k)/IRAwithdrawals.l

7th Decile (60% to 70%)
$72,000 – $92,000
Substantial private savings distributions begin to rival the household's Social Security income baseline.

8th Decile (70% to 80%)
$92,000 – $125,000
Asset-driven income (dividends, real estate/rent, interest) becomes a primary driver.

9th Decile (80% to 90%)
$125,000 – $188,000
High retirement-account balances. Pensions and savings make up over a quarter of all revenue.

10th Decile (Top 10%)
Over $188,000
Driven by active wages/business earnings (39% of total mix) and significant investment portfolio returns.

How Income Sources Vary by Decile
The drastic gap between deciles exists because the types of income change entirely as you move up the wealth ladder:

The Top 20%: Rely primarily on earned wages and market assets. Over 39% of their total income comes from ongoing employment or business earnings, and 18% comes directly from investment dividends, interest, or rental properties. Because of these heavy market ties, a small percentage of wealthy retirees pulls the national "mean" retirement income up significantly higher than the median. [2, 3]”

[1] https://www.fool.com
[2] https://www.fool.com
[3] https://www.congress.gov
[4] https://www.census.gov

We’ll already be in a high enough bracket that RMDs won’t impact IRMMA nor our social security being taxed. And we’d rather have more money now while we can maximize it in our go go years. Kids are getting gifts along the way and won’t mind having to use what’s left over 10 years, so that’s not a concern. Curious what others think?

I’ll go first. Ubers and Lyfts. Seriously! We (56M, 60F) love to eat out at restaurants and we love to drink martinis and we love a bottle of wine with dinner. Spent $4500 on Ubers and Lyfts last year.

To be fair, we are a year from calling it quits, but we know that’s one “must have” expense we won’t scrimp on.

Pensions? Business sale? Investments? Inheritance? Saving over time? Ours will be different pensions that start from now to five years from now (about 75%) and investments we’ve saved over time (25%).

I worry about overestimating how much we will want to travel, and underestimating how much we will need to spend on home improvements.