Running out of money usually means that you have used up all of your retirement savings and your home equity and are left with whatever income streams you might have — Social Security or a pension if you are lucky.
About 40 percent of all U.S. households where the head of the household is between 35 and 64 are expected to run short of money in retirement, according to a 2019 report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. It's only a projection but studies on current retirees reveal similar results.
Seek Employers Who Offer Pension
If you're wondering how to retire at 50 with no money, find a position with a company that offers a pension. With a little extra thought and planning, working for 10 or 15 years at a company with a pension could make a positive impact on your retirement savings.
13 percent of Americans 60 years or older did not have any retirement savings as of January 2020. The share of individuals without retirement savings increased with the younger age groups, and among individuals from 18 to 29 years old, 42 percent did not have retirement savings.
You could quickly run out of money in retirement if you need long-term care but didn't have a plan to pay for it. More than half of adults turning 65 today will need long-term care and about 1 in 7 will need care for more than five years, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
But if you can supplement your retirement income with other savings or sources of income, then $6,000 a month could be a good starting point for a comfortable retirement.
How much does the average 70-year-old have in savings? According to data from the Federal Reserve, the average amount of retirement savings for 65- to 74-year-olds is just north of $426,000.
Those who do have retirement funds don't have enough money in them: According to our research, 56- to 61-year-olds have an average of $163,577, and those ages 65 to 74 have even less in savings. 11 If that money were turned into a lifetime annuity, it would only amount to a few hundred dollars a month.
A general rule for retirement savings by age 60 is to aim to have about seven to eight times your current salary saved up. This means someone earning $75,000 a year would ideally have between $525,000 to $600,000 in retirement savings at that age. If you aren't there yet, you're not alone.
Retirement experts have offered various rules of thumb about how much you need to save: somewhere near $1 million, 80% to 90% of your annual pre-retirement income, 12 times your pre-retirement salary.
Average Retirement Expenses by Category. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an American household headed by someone aged 65 and older spent an average of $48,791 per year, or $4,065.95 per month, between 2016 and 2020.
If you're just curious about the average age people retire, the answer is simple: 62. We get why you'd want to know what age most people retire. You can use that as a benchmark and work backwards to figure out how much time you have left to work and save until you can think about retiring.
How much should I have in my 401(k)? A general rule is to have six to eight times your salary saved by age 60, though more conservative estimates may skew higher. The truth is that your retirement savings plan hinges on your individual goals and financial situation.
As such, while you can technically try to retire on Social Security alone, it's not advisable. A far better bet is to amass some level of savings so you have an additional income source to fall back on. If that's not possible, you can plan to work part-time in retirement to boost your monthly earnings.
Will Social Security still be around when I retire? Yes. The Social Security taxes you now pay go into the Social Security Trust Funds and are used to pay benefits to current beneficiaries. The Social Security Board of Trustees now estimates that based on current law, in 2041, the Trust Funds will be depleted.
Many experts say your annual retirement income should be 70 percent to 80 percent of your final pre-retirement salary. So, if you make $80,000 when you leave the workforce, you'll need at least $56,000 for each year you plan to spend in retirement.
This is a difficult question because it depends on many things, such as your pre-retirement annual income, expenses, and retirement goals. However, in general, $150,000 is a good retirement income.
Based on the 80% principle, you can expect to need about $96,000 in annual income after you retire, which is $8,000 per month.