Although SuperAging increasingly means unretirement — either not stopping work at all or continuing to work, past 65, at least part time — we will see many stories based on the old model of “retirement savings.” How much do you need? Where can live that will enable it to last longer?
These are important questions even if you’re planning to keep working. As we’ve noted many times here before, there are serious disconnects between
— How people estimate longevity
— How their financial planners estimate longevity
— How much money they think they’ll need, post 65, if they’re not working at all (“retirement savings:)
— How much money they actually have
The latest story that came to our attention is this one, which takes the nice, round sum of $1 million and shows how long it will last in various states across the USA. Cost of living for each state including housing, groceries, healthcare, utilities and transportation.
Averaging all the states, $1 million can cover 18.9 years of living expenses. The extremes are Hawaii, where $1 million will last barely 10 years, and Mississippi, where it will last over 22 years.
Not surprisingly, the Southern states are where the money will last the longest, while the Northeast and California are where you’ll burn through it the most quickly. Check out the detailed list here.
Lists like this are certainly interesting, but there’s unpleasant kicker: most Americans are nowhere near having $1 million socked away in the first place. In fact, the media “retirement savings” for Baby Boomers is only $120,000. Think that’s bad? Almost 30% of people aged 59 or older have saved….nothing.
Now you do see why we keep calling it unretirement?