This piece by financial "expert" Suze Orman came out a bit ago.
Here's the headline statement:
If I resurrected "How Am I Doing?" today, I'd be handing out plenty of failing grades to anyone who thinks they will be able to retire before they turn 70. Yes, you heard me right: 70 is the new retirement age—not a month or year before.
She goes on to elaborate:
Look, I totally get that if you are reading MONEY you're probably a diligent saver. But it's always dangerous to assume you're better off than you really are. You likely have plenty saved up to breeze through 15 years or so of retirement. But, people, if you stop working in your 60s, your retirement stash might need to support you for 30 years, not 15.
Then she details her three steps to retirement:
Step 1: Delay Tapping Social Security Until 70
Step 2: Lay the Foundation Now to Work Longer Later
Step 3: Truly Enjoy a Secure Retirement
Several thoughts on this one:
- For most Americans, she's probably right. Why? Because they don't save like they should while working. They spend too much and save too little, which ends up meaning you need to work longer.
- That said, if you manage your money correctly, you can retire -- and retire quite well -- waaaaaay before 70. I did it at 52 and could have retired almost a decade earlier quite comfortably.
- If I was stuck at retiring at 70, I'd be very, very depressed.
- Even if you're "older" (like in your 40s or 50s) and haven't saved much, there's still a way you can retire before 70. For details check out this post on how to retire in ten years.
Anyway, that's my take on her thoughts. What's yours?
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