At age 60–69, consider a moderate portfolio (60% stock, 35% bonds, 5% cash/cash investments); 70–79, moderately conservative (40% stock, 50% bonds, 10% cash/cash investments); 80 and above, conservative (20% stock, 50% bonds, 30% cash/cash investments).
The common rule of asset allocation by age is that you should hold a percentage of stocks that is equal to 100 minus your age. So if you're 40, you should hold 60% of your portfolio in stocks. Since life expectancy is growing, changing that rule to 110 minus your age or 120 minus your age may be more appropriate.
“Considering factors like inflation, the potential for a recession and today's longer life expectancies, it's recommended to have at least 10 to 12 times your current income saved for retirement,” said Kami Adams, a retirement income specialist with Creative Legacy Group.
The 90/10 rule in investing is a comment made by Warren Buffett regarding asset allocation. The rule stipulates investing 90% of one's investment capital toward low-cost stock-based index funds and the remainder 10% to short-term government bonds.
Many novice investors lose money chasing big returns. And that's why Buffett's first rule of investing is “don't lose money”. The thing is, if an investors makes a poor investment decision and the value of that asset — stock — goes down 50%, the investment has to go 100% up to get back to where it started.
The moderately conservative allocation is 25% large-cap stocks, 5% small-cap stocks, 10% international stocks, 50% bonds and 10% cash investments. The moderate allocation is 35% large-cap stocks, 10% small-cap stocks, 15% international stocks, 35% bonds and 5% cash investments.
Just 16% of retirees say they have more than $1 million saved, including all personal savings and assets, according to the recent CNBC Your Money retirement survey conducted with SurveyMonkey. In fact, among those currently saving for retirement, 57% say the amount they're hoping to save is less than $1 million.
The $1,000 per month rule is designed to help you estimate the amount of savings required to generate a steady monthly income during retirement. According to this rule, for every $240,000 you save, you can withdraw $1,000 per month if you stick to a 5% annual withdrawal rate.
Those who are older, such as in retirement, should invest in more safe assets, like bonds, as they need to preserve capital. A common rule of thumb is 100 minus your age to determine your allocation to stocks. For example, if you are 30, then you'd allocate 70% to stocks and 30% to bonds (100 - 30 = 70).
The reality is that stocks do have market risk, but even those of you close to retirement or retired should stay invested in stocks to some degree in order to benefit from the upside over time. If you're 65, you could have two decades or more of living ahead of you and you'll want that potential boost.
Aggressive portfolios generally contain investments with an increased potential for capital appreciation. They tend to have larger allocations of stocks and smaller allocations of bonds and cash reserves. Aggressive investment strategies are most commonly pursued by young investors who are still of working age.
The safest place to put your retirement funds is in low-risk investments and savings options with guaranteed growth. Low-risk investments and savings options include fixed annuities, savings accounts, CDs, treasury securities, and money market accounts. Of these, fixed annuities usually provide the best interest rates.
Generally Recommended Allocation for 65-Year-Olds
Respected investment firm T. Rowe Price has a model that's closer to this more modern version of allocation, recommending that investors in their 60s have 45% to 65% in stocks, with 30% to 50% in bonds and 0% to 10% in cash.
Rich retirees: In the 90th percentile, with net worth starting at $1.9 million, this group has much more financial freedom and is able to afford luxuries and legacy planning.
Not factoring in additional income from other sources or taking taxes into account, if you retire at 65 and plan to spread $400,000 across 15 years up to a life expectancy of 85, you'll receive, at minimum, $34,000 annually. This is if you factor in 2% inflation and an annual yield of 6%.
Your net worth is what you own minus what you owe. It's the total value of all your assets—including your house, cars, investments and cash—minus your liabilities (things like credit card debt, student loans, and what you still owe on your mortgage).
The top 10% of earners have an average net worth of $2.65 million. Even if you're squeaking into the upper class (the 80-90% range), you're looking at about $793,000. Moving down to the middle class, things get a bit more varied. The upper-middle class folks have an average net worth of around $300,800.
The suggested savings guidelines say you need about ten times your annual salary in savings as you reach your full retirement age. The median salary of a 65-year-old is $54,000 per year — which means you'd need approximately $540,000 saved if you want to retire at 65.
Top Warren Buffett Stocks
Kraft Heinz (KHC), 325.6 million. Apple (AAPL), 300 million. Occidental Petroleum (OXY), 264.3 million. American Express (AXP), 151.6 million.
Junk Bonds
Junk bonds are high-yield corporate bonds issued by companies with lower credit ratings. Because of their higher risk of default, they offer higher interest rates, potentially providing returns over 10%. During economic growth periods, the risk of default decreases, making junk bonds particularly attractive.