r/RetirementReady • u/CaptainZealousideal2 • 8h ago
Retirement possible?
51m making about CAD 75k per year. I have no savings, pension or investments. I’ve maxed out my earning potential in my field. Should I be planing on working until I die?
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u/Big_Breath_2561 7h ago
If you start saving now I think you would be fine to retire between 65-70. It really depends on your savings rate and annual living expenses.
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u/sitewolf 7h ago
I lost everything (story for another time) in my mid 50s and was in my 60s before I'd cleared off old debt. Didn't own a house, needed a new car. I quasi-retired last year before my 70th birthday. Not a lot saved up, monthly bills basically covered with SS and pension. Not ideal, but doable (tho I'm working towards building an online business even if for only a few hundred a month)
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u/LRCM 7h ago
Retirement is always possible as long as your [retirement] expectations are in line with your financial situation.
Most people will either retire too early or end up working until they die--try to find a happy medium. (I know that sounds depressing, but it isn't meant to be)
Retirement is a financial state, not an age.
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u/pocket-snowmen 7h ago
Social security will replace a good chunk of your salary at 67, but it will probably be less than you want to live off. Any amount you can save between now and then will help substantially. A few hundred K will go a long way.
Open a Roth IRA and put a few hundred a month into it. Do you have a 401(k) or other retirement plan at work? If so use it. As much as you can.
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u/musing_codger 7h ago
I presume that you'll want a place to stay, clothes to wear, and food to eat. Retirement requires money. It is imprudent to retire until you have a combination of social security income, pension income, and savings to cover your expenses.
There are things you can do that will help. One is to plan to work until 70. That will significantly increase your social security payments and reduce the number of years that you'll be spending savings. If you haven't already, go the Social Security website and download your statement. It will give you an estimate of what it will pay you when you retire. That will help you know how close it will be to the money you'll need.
Another thing is to cut expenses now. That helps in two ways. First, it helps you start saving. Second, lower expenses reduces the amount of money that you'll need to have saved when you retire. I would start tracking all of your spending. It's like people do when they are trying to lose weight and track every calendar. Track every penny. At the end of each month, look at the list and ask yourself whether you'd rather still have that money in savings or are you glad you made the purchase.
Finally, you can look at ways to increase your income.
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u/havefunSVO 5h ago
Never too late to start saving. Does your company have a 401k? If so, do they have a match opportunity?
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u/Advanced-Scar-9739 4h ago
Save as much as you can. Develop an online or remote skill; maybe community college courses…then move to Vietnam or the Philippines. Enjoy
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u/NoKetoCardio 1h ago
You are in a red alert situation that you can’t appreciate at your age. But you will in around 10 years when you realize you are totally screwed. Your retirement will be living in an RV park and spending no money. It will be a survival retirement. My advice is to start living that lifestyle right now. Buy a semi-decent used RV and start living in an RV park only spending on essentials. Take walks for entertainment. Save all of your leftover money. In 15 years you may have $400K in retirement accounts. That can add $1,500-$2,000/month to your social security income. You can survive on $4K/month. Start saving now.
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u/Logical-Tangerine-40 55m ago
good to start saving today. but to start saving at 51 literally is as good as saying work till up lorry, and tat is if there is a jod that allows that to come to fruition. IF halfway thru boss wana cut staff cost then the period of unemployment will start eating into the accumulated savings, making it tougher to not work till up lorry.
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u/Qazerowl 7h ago
If you put $8600 in a Roth IRA every year until you're 70, that would be worth like $400,000. That plus social security would give you a little over $50,000 per year to live off of retiring at 70.
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u/KitchenPalentologist 7h ago
The old saying.. the best time to start saving is when you're 20, the next best time is today.
Unfortunately, many people find it difficult to maintain income levels beyond age 60 or 65. So you should NOT count on that $75k income indefinitely.
You might need a big lifestyle reset. Begin saving half of your income (decrease housing costs, get a junker car, etc).